This book goes beyond the narrow definition of the term provenance, which addresses only the bare facts of ownership and transfer, to explore ideas about the origins and itineraries of objects, consider the historical uses of provenance research, and draw attention to the transformative power of ownership.

This guide is a comprehensive and authoritative resource for tracing the ownership history of works of art. Focused on cultural property looted by the Nazis and others during WWII, it is divided into three parts: Basic Provenance Research and Principles, Holocaust-Era Provenance Research, and Appendixes, which include bibliographies of collections, dealer archives, and "red flag names" compiled by the Office of Strategic Services.

In the age of economic globalisation, do art and heritage matter? Once the domain of elitist practitioners and scholars, the governance of cultural heritage and the destiny of iconic artefacts have emerged as the new frontier of international law, making headlines and attracting the varied interests of academics and policy-makers, museum curators and collectors, human rights activists and investment lawyers and artists and economists, just to mention a few. The return of cultural artefacts to their legitimate owners, the recovery of underwater cultural heritage and the protection and promotion of artistic expressions are just some of the pressing issues addressed by this book.

At AAM's 2004 International Provenance Research Colloquium, specialists from North America met with colleagues from western and central Europe to exchange information on the general topic of provenance research, with an emphasis on World War II provenance issues.