Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
In this panel discussion, four experts reflect on a Yongzheng-period (1723–1735) porcelain cup in the collections of the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. This cup was purchased in 1940 from a private individual whose father reportedly participated in the so-called Boxer War of 1900. Discussants articulate research questions, brainstorm approaches, and talk through how they would ideally track down answers about both the object’s journey and the life histories of the individuals who encountered it.
Unpacking Provenance: Retracing the Histories of Asian Art (https://asia.si.edu/whats-on/events/event-series/unpacking-provenance-retracing-the-histories-of-asian-art/) is an online series that brings together cross-disciplinary specialists to discuss provenance research processes and share resources. Discussions focus on a single object, exploring a variety of innovative, strategic, and collaborative approaches to inquiry.
Unpacking Provenance is part of a larger collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz that seeks to cultivate the global network of provenance researchers and promote exchange. Previous programs include Hidden Networks: The Trade of Asian Art (2020–2022) and Provenance of Asian Art: A Collaborative Workshop and Symposium (2023).
Generous support for the museum's provenance research and object histories program is provided by the David Berg Foundation and the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.
Speakers include:
Birgitta Augustin, Museum für Asiatische Kunst, National Museums in Berlin (SMB)
Teng Deyong, Palace Museum, Beijing
Thoralf Klein, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Adriana Proser, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland
Facilitated by:
Joanna M. Gohmann, National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, DC
Christine Howald, Zentralarchiv/Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
In this panel discussion, four experts reflect on a Yongzheng-period (1723–1735) porcelain cup in the collections of the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. This cup was purchased in 1940 from a private individual whose father reportedly participated in the so-called Boxer War of 1900. Discussants articulate research questions, brainstorm approaches, and talk through how they would ideally track down answers about both the object’s journey and the life histories of the individuals who encountered it.
Unpacking Provenance: Retracing the Histories of Asian Art (https://asia.si.edu/whats-on/events/event-series/unpacking-provenance-retracing-the-histories-of-asian-art/) is an online series that brings together cross-disciplinary specialists to discuss provenance research processes and share resources. Discussions focus on a single object, exploring a variety of innovative, strategic, and collaborative approaches to inquiry.
Unpacking Provenance is part of a larger collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz that seeks to cultivate the global network of provenance researchers and promote exchange. Previous programs include Hidden Networks: The Trade of Asian Art (2020–2022) and Provenance of Asian Art: A Collaborative Workshop and Symposium (2023).
Generous support for the museum's provenance research and object histories program is provided by the David Berg Foundation and the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.
Speakers include:
Birgitta Augustin, Museum für Asiatische Kunst, National Museums in Berlin (SMB)
Teng Deyong, Palace Museum, Beijing
Thoralf Klein, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Adriana Proser, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland
Facilitated by:
Joanna M. Gohmann, National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, DC
Christine Howald, Zentralarchiv/Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
