​Intensive Course ‘Spurensuche’

The intensive course ‘Spurensuche - Archivkunde für die postkoloniale Provenienzforschung’ (Tracing Origins – Archival Studies for Postcolonial Provenance Research), organised by the Institute of History at the University of Giessen in collaboration with the German Centre for Lost Cultural Property, partnered with the Weltkulturen Museum in 2024 and 2025.

During the five-day course, students, archivists, museum staff and other interested parties were given an introduction to the basic principles of provenance research in colonial contexts. A key focus was on working with archival materials such as deeds, letters and files, and conducting research in archival databases. The specific situation at the Weltkulturen Museum provided an opportunity to reflect on provenance research when there are only a few surviving archival documents, and on alternative research methods.

Together with the course participants, the following questions, for example, were discussed:
Where does the research begin when there is hardly any information available?
What research options are there beyond archives (e.g. online forums, societies for family history or local history, historical advertisements, obituaries and marriage announcements in newspapers, …)?
How can we collaborate effectively with external archives and other museums?
What can objects themselves reveal about their provenance?
How can comparable objects and material analysis assist in provenance research?

To illustrate the work carried out at the museum, case studies from the collections were presented, including a ceremonial sword looted during the British punitive expedition to Benin City, the provenance of which was investigated in a research project in 2023. Less spectacular cases and the limits of research – that is, provenance investigations which, at a certain point, were unable to yield any further information – were also presented and discussed. Course participants also presented their own current projects and challenges and worked together to formulate specific research questions for further investigation.