Glossary: Collecting History

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art, art history, authenticity, collecting, collecting history, collecting history vs. provenance, due diligence, origins, provenance

I came across an excellent point during my reading: some art professionals propose that the term “collecting history” is more relevant than “provenance”, and should be strictly used for accuracy. The argument is that “provenance” is too vague, that it refers only to an object’s origins, and that what is more crucial is its history since. Collecting history means (or should mean) a complete record of ownership from a piece’s creation or discovery to the present.

The Value of Unprovenanced Antiquities

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antiquities, archaeology, art market, artefact, artifact, collecting, cultural preservation, excavation, looting, provenance, research, value

“Regarding the issue of unprovenanced antiquities: surely even without substantiated provenance, there is still some factual knowledge to be derived– the approximate age of the item, for instance, and its general geographic origin? As a layperson in this area, I understand the additional value of confirmed provenance, but should that also mean that an item lacking provenance has no value at all?”

This was a great question in response to my last post, discussing a magazine editorial on scholarship, ethics, and artefacts lacking in proper archaeological provenance. (An unprovenanced artefact is one with an incomplete or unscientific record of its origin). The one-sentence answer is yes, there is always something to be gained from any existing piece. The more complete, complex answer has to do with the importance of knowledge and the nature of scientific inquiry. In archaeology, consider provenance another word for context. The moment something is pulled out of the ground, 90 percent of its meaning is lost.

Unprovenanced Artifacts—Publish or Perish?

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antiquities, archaeology, art crime, art market, artefact, artifact, authenticity, Biblical Archaeology Review, Biblical Archaeology Society, collecting, cultural preservation, excavation, provenance

Click to read the editorial

This editorial from the most recent issue of Biblical Archaeology Review does an excellent job of summarizing the concerns raised by studying artefacts that were inadequately, improperly, or even illegally excavated. Within this example, comparing two scholarly books, author Hershel Shenks outlines every major problem currently being debated; I highly recommend it as a brief introduction to a typically abstruse discussion.

What to Do with Unprovenanced Artifacts—Publish or Perish?

The Problem of Public Awareness

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archaeology, art crime, art theft, art trafficking, artefact, artifact, collecting, cultural heritage, cultural preservation, excavation, interdisciplinary, looting, public awareness

It is in the nature of research to take one in unexpected directions; what I was not prepared for was a single, simple idea that struck to the heart of a major problem of art crime. I was working on a post recently on how to recognise and protect archaeological sites for the general public; especially in North America, sites can be very hard to detect on the surface and artefacts hard to identify. Sometimes sites are damaged by people who don’t even realise they are on top of archaeology. Trying to develop a simple explanation of what sites and artefacts might look like, I realised I had a deeper question: what might be the consequences if I did?

Authenticity and Value

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art, art history, art market, artefact, artifact, authenticity, collecting, cultural preservation, museum, provenance, reproduction, value

After my last post, on forgery, I found myself still thinking about the meaning of authenticity, and the questions it raises; questions for which I have no answers. During the 19th century, it was common for art, especially sculpture, to be “restored” to make it more beautiful. Broken-off pieces like arms, feet, even heads, would be replaced with new pieces and seamlessly added to statues, with little concern for the piece’s original composition. The intent was usually not to produce an accurate restoration, but to make the piece as aesthetically pleasing as possible, according to the standards of the day. Many such pieces are now considered hopelessly inaccurate, not just because of modern knowledge, but by modern standards. In other centuries, a work of art’s great value lay in its beauty; in ours, art’s greatest value is in its authenticity.

Modernist Meditation

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art, art crime, art market, art theft, collecting, installation, modern art, museum, Portland Art Museum, provenance

Courtesy Portland Art Museum

I was at the Portland Art Museum this morning (like many of Oregon’s features, an under-the-radar gem, with an impressive scope to its collections), listening to a charming lecture from the curator, and suddenly found myself distracted by images from the modern and contemporary galleries. Leaving aside my personal opinions on modern art, I began to wonder—has the twenty-first century created unstealable art?

The Thomas Crown Affair

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art, art crime, art market, art theft, collecting, heist, museum, Thomas Crown Affair

An art crime researcher watching a heist movie for leisure is probably as bad as a personal trainer doing push-ups to unwind, but even intense intellectual scrutiny of caper films can’t escape one thing—they’re fun. Watching a movie with someone who can debate its accuracy and presentation is either fascinating or maddening, so out of compassion for my friends, I try to keep quiet, but I can’t help making mental notes. Perhaps it should be heresy that I can enjoy movies about art theft, but The Thomas Crown Affair lets me forget about the ugliness for a while and lose myself in the game.