Investigation into the provenance of museum collections in connection with the theft, confiscation and sale of objects under duress between 1933 and 1945.

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Museum Martena

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Museum Martena

Voorstraat 35 8801 LA Franeker www.museummartena.nl

Investigation results

None of the objects in this museum have problematic provenance.

Result of this investigation

Investigators found no objects with problematic provenance in the museum’s collection. No objects were acquired in either 1933-1940 or 1948-1954. A handful of items were bought after 1955: some of these were without any documentation so that no further investigation was possible. Of the items with only partial provenance, there is nothing to indicate that the missing provenance may be problematic. Investigators examined inventory books, purchase documents and exhibition and auction catalogues. An auctioneer was also consulted. Further investigation at RKD brought no new information to light.

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

View reaction of Museum Martena 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

The museum was founded in 1921 as a municipal museum called Coopmanshûs and evolved from Franeker’s nineteenth-century antiquities exhibition. In 2006, the museum moved to Martenastins, from which it takes its name. The collection focuses on the history of Franeker, and features paintings, porcelain, silver and mechanical objects. Permanent displays feature Franeker University and seventeenth-century scholar and artist Anna Maria van Schurman. Contemporary Frisian art is also exhibited.