Drents Museum

Investigation results

This museum has 3 objects with a potentially problematic provenance.

Result of this investigation

Drenthe Museum focused their provenance investigation on objects in two out of four departments: Art 1885-1935 and Drenthe’s History. The Archaeology and Contemporary Realism departments were not part of the investigation. Investigators checked inventories, Drenthe folk almanacs, the acquisitions archive and registration system. A Museum Association investigator thoroughly examined an extensive list of paintings and drawings the RKD (The Netherlands Institute for Art History) records. Several items remained with incomplete provenance, even after this investigation.
The museum also reports that a number of objects in its collection may have problematic provenance. These are two Chinese porcelain jars, two porcelain vases and a Delftware plate mentioned in the inventory book as old possessions of unknown origin, ‘probably NSB items’. Investigators turned up no new information about the provenance of these objects.

Information from previous research (report Museum Acquisitions 1940-1948)

View reaction of Drents Museum in the report Museale acquisitions 1940-1948 which was published in 1999 in response to the previous museum research.

About this museum and its collection

Founded in 1854, Drenthe Museum combines various collections. Beside the archaeology department which focuses on the people, landscape and peat bog corpses of the region, the museum has a major Art Nouveau and Art Deco collection. This comprises Dutch fine and applied art of the years 1885-1935. In recent decades, the museum has collected contemporary Dutch realistic art.