The historical record of the ownership, custody, and location of a work of art.

Provenance is one of the most important and measurable elements in the valuation of artwork. Though not itself a guarantee of authenticity, a well-established record of provenance means that a work is less likely to be forgery, reassuring investors of the object's value and generally contributing to a higher selling price. Ideally, provenance traces back to the time of a work's creation and comprises a documentary record of owners’ names, dates of ownership, means of transference (inheritance or sale through a dealer or auction), and storage locations. An unbroken chronology is rarely achieved, however, given such factors as anonymous sales and missing documents.