PROVENANCE STUDIES IN POLAND (PART 2)

This article continues the first part ofProvenance studies in Poland published in issue 57 of the“Muzealnictwo” Annual in 2016, and complements the textpublished two years ago, which was more general and focusedon the situation in the USA and Europe. It presents diverseaspects of the topic, through statistical analysis of thesituation in our museums and discussing works by Polishauthors who tackled the problem of methodology, includingfirst texts on library science and war losses, so-calledorphaned works and property of Holocaust victims, andthe post-war situation which contributed to the work’s lossof its origin. The article also draws attention to the legalaspects of purchasing artworks without due diligence, aswell as to the verification of museum exhibits’ origin beforeobtaining legal protection for those works which are to beplaced under so-called museum immunity. In the literatureon provenance studies when examining the provenance ofartworks, the increasing role of digital tools, such as theinternet or digitisation, has been noted. Attention has alsobeen drawn to the contribution of conservators and theirinnovative methods which may help determine the originof an object. Another aspect raised in the text is the issue ofthe theoretical preparation to conduct provenance studiesas well as the education which is already standard in libraryscience faculties, but still a long-awaited subject for studentsof art history and archiving. Although NIMOZ has already organisedday-long workshops for museum professionals, andthe University of Warsaw has conducted academic seminarslasting several hours, there is still a long way before reachingthe two-term studies offered at the Berlin Open University