On objects.
On evidence.
On what remains unknown.
Working glossary / 22 terms
Short editorial definitions for reading provenance and attribution records. Institutional cataloguing conventions may use more specific meanings.
22 terms
A work based on another artist’s composition or model. This describes a relationship, not necessarily a date.
A locator within a repository, collection or file. Keep the repository and any box, folder or item identifiers together.
A qualified authorship statement. Read it in the context of the cataloguing system and the opinion being cited.
An assessment of who made a work. The wording may express uncertainty and may change with research.
A systematic scholarly catalogue of a maker’s work within a defined scope. Check edition, entry and publication history.
A list of works associated with an exhibition or collection. Its completeness and version should be established.
Support from another relevant source whose relationship to the first has been examined.
A record of an earlier attribution that is no longer the preferred identification in the cited catalogue.
An imaging method that can reveal features beneath some paint layers. Results depend on the materials and imaging conditions.
Writing or a mark on an object. Its presence, wording, date and author are separate questions.
A record of objects held at a particular time. Identification may require matching older descriptions to present-day records.
Evidence created in relation to the event under study. Its proximity does not remove the need to assess its purpose and accuracy.
The recorded history of ownership or possession of an object. Each step should be linked to its evidence.
An interval for which the ownership record remains incomplete. Record the gap without assigning an unsupported explanation.
A record whose full contents are not openly available. A public reference to it establishes less than inspection of the complete file.
An account or interpretation drawing on earlier material. Follow its citations to understand the basis of a claim.
A dealer’s business record. Entries may preserve object descriptions, prices and transactions within that business.
The material carrying an image, such as canvas, wood or paper, distinguished from applied paint or other layers.
Investigation of an object’s materials, structure or manufacture using specified methods.
The reverse of an object or sheet. Labels and inscriptions there may help identify its history.
A relationship to production within a maker’s workshop; it does not simply mean an autograph work by that maker.
An imaging method using X-rays to investigate internal structure and differences in material response.
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Source pages reviewed 22 September 2026. The discussion is an editorial synthesis; it is not a finding about the authenticity of a particular work.