Provenance research

Since 2008, we have been taking a close look: where do the objects in our collections come from? In doing so, we are fulfilling our duty to check our collections to ensure that all objects have been acquired in accordance with the law.

In a first step, the collection was examined for “art seized due to Nazi persecution”, i.e. for cultural property that came to the museum as a result of National Socialist persecution. The initial focus was on the collection holdings acquired between 1933 and 1945. Subsequently, the research was expanded to include the holdings acquired between 1945 and 1995, since it was precisely in the post-war period that many “flotsam and jetsam” of history found their way into the collection, whose former owners (independent of Nazi persecution) need to be identified.

“Finds” made during the systematic research were reported to the Lost Art database in order to establish contact with heirs. In the meantime, several objects have already been restituted, i.e. returned or (re)purchased by the heirs. But just as important as the exact origin of the objects are the stories behind them that come to light during the research, such as family fates, company history or adventurous trade routes. They give the collection pieces an additional narrative level beyond their art-historical significance.