provenience
English
editExamples (source; origin) |
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A Roman coin might have been minted in Germany, stored in the Vatican vaults, sunk in a shipwreck in 505AD, recovered by archaeologists at a specific off-shore location, stolen and then recovered and eventually put on display at a particular museum. |
Etymology
editAlteration of provenance
Noun
editprovenience (plural proveniences)
- (archaeology) Source; findspot; origin.
Usage notes
edit- The term provenience in archaeology/archeology has largely replaced provenance in order to distinguish and clarify the issue of "findspot" from "ownership." Provenience most frequently refers to the in situ location at the time of archaeological discovery ("the provenience of an artifact"), while provenance is customarily used by historians, museums, and commercial entities to refer to chain of custody, ideally from the time of origin to the current location in museums or private collections.