Delve into the depths of the SPK’s collection histories – at the eighth Provenance Research Day on 8 April 2026
Press release from 03/26/2026
A rediscovered Madonna, the history of the sculpture collection, the networks of Surrealism, talking mats, and the responsible handling of human remains – all of this is linked to the work of provenance researchers. On 8 April, they will be talking about it.
This year marks the eighth edition of International Provenance Research Day. On 8 April 2026, institutions within the SPK will once again offer insights into their work: alongside the now traditional provenance walks organised by the Central Archives and the State Library, which take place in cooperation with other Berlin institutions, there will be guided tours and workshops on provenance research and collection history at the Bode Museum, the Picture Gallery, the New National Gallery and the Dahlem Research Campus.
Guided tours #Spurensuche – A provenance walk
Four guided provenance walks along different routes through central Berlin offer insights into the work of provenance researchers at various cultural institutions. At the same time, various stops along today’s Berlin cityscape reveal visible traces of Nazi rule as well as the fates of persecuted people and institutions. Joint event organised by: Academy of Arts, German Historical Museum, Jewish Museum Berlin, Berlin State Library, Topography of Terror Foundation, Berlin City Museum Foundation, Central Archive of the Berlin State Museums and Berlin Central and Regional Library.
When: 8 April 2025, 10:00, 12:45, 14:45 and 17:00 (Duration: 60 to 120 minutes depending on the tour)
Where: Please refer to the booking website for meeting points and route details
Who: Professional city guides and provenance researchers from the institutions
Registration: Limited number of participants. Participation is free of charge, but registration is required at:
10:00 am: https://pretix.eu/StaatsbibliothekZuBerlin/spuren2026-10/
12:45 pm: https://pretix.eu/StaatsbibliothekZuBerlin/spuren2026-12/
2.45 pm: https://pretix.eu/StaatsbibliothekZuBerlin/spuren2026-14/
5.00 pm: https://pretix.eu/StaatsbibliothekZuBerlin/spuren2026-17/
Further information at: https://blog.sbb.berlin/termin/spurensuche-2026/
Curator’s tour of the exhibition “The Baptismal Font of Siena. History, Restoration and Reinstallation of a Plaster Model”
A tour of the exhibition takes visitors into the depths of the Bode Museum: into the crypt and into the history of the museum’s collection. It focuses on two dissimilar objects: the historic plaster model of the Baptistery of Siena from the Berlin Plaster Casting Workshop and the bronze statuette of a putto with a tambourine by Donatello, which once belonged to it. Using these works, we explore Prussian casting campaigns in Italy, the craft of plaster casting—which remains alive to this day—and the eventful provenance of the Berlin Donatello bronze. This raises central questions for the museum world: when is a collection object an original, and when a copy? And where have the plaster casts gone that were regarded in the 19th century as the ‘centrepiece of all collections’ and once characterised Museum Island?
When: 8 April 2026, 3.30 pm (Duration: approx. 60 minutes)
Where: Bode Museum, Crypt
Who: Veronika Tocha (Plaster Casting Workshop) and Neville Rowley (Picture Gallery)
Registration: Participation fee €6 plus admission. Limited number of participants. Online booking is required to take part at: https://www.smb.museum/museen-einrichtungen/bode-museum/bildung-vermittlung/angebote/das-taufbecken-von-siena-2026-04-08-153000-159059/
Curator’s tour of the Picture Gallery: The Rediscovered Madonna
The Madonna and Child, painted by a Milanese successor to Leonardo da Vinci, has a remarkable provenance. The work was long considered lost after the Second World War, but it resurfaced: in 1945, it had been purchased by an American soldier in Berlin. When his son learnt of its provenance in 2011, he decided to return it to the Picture Gallery. It is this extraordinary story that is worth telling.
When: 8 April 2026, 2.00 pm (Duration: approx. 60 minutes)
Where: Gemäldegalerie
Who: Dr Neville Rowley, Curator of Italian Painting 1278–1500
Registration: Participation fee €6 plus admission. Limited number of participants. Online booking is required to take part at: https://www.smb.museum/veranstaltungen/detail/die-wiedergefundene-madonna-2026-04-08-140000-158498/
Further information at:https://www.preussischer-kulturbesitz.de/pressemitteilung/artikel/2012/02/09/ein-seit-kriegsende-als-vermisst-geltendes-italienisches-madonnenbildnis-kehrte-gestern-in-die-gemaeldegalerie-der-staatlichen-museen-zu-berlin-zurueck.html
Surrealism in the Focus of Provenance Research: Short Introductions to the Exhibition “Max Ernst to Dorothea Tanning. Networks of Surrealism. Provenances of the Ulla and Heiner
Pietzsch Collection”
In short introductions, the curators will provide insights into the exhibition, the Ulla and Heiner Pietzsch Collection, and the themes and methods of provenance research, whilst presenting their personal favourite works. Questions are, of course, welcome.
When: 8 April 2026, 2.30 pm, 3.00 pm, 3.30 pm, 4.00 pm (Duration: approx. 20 minutes each)
Where: Neue Nationalgalerie, basement
Who: Lisa Hackmann, Sven Haase, Sara Biever (Central Archive) and Ricarda Bergmann (Neue Nationalgalerie)
Registration: Participation requires a valid admission ticket. Limited number of participants. Register at:
Curator-led tour of the exhibition “From Max Ernst to Dorothea Tanning. Networks of Surrealism. Provenances of the Ulla and Heiner Pietzsch Collection”
Who owned the artworks? When and why did ownership change hands? What role did political and social circumstances or personal connections play in this? What do the backs of the paintings reveal about their history? The exhibition’s curators introduce visitors to the networks of Surrealism and, using selected works and their provenance, tell a unique story of this explicitly political art movement.
When: 8 April 2026, 5.00 pm (Duration: approx. 50 minutes)
Where: Neue Nationalgalerie, basement
Who: Lisa Hackmann (Central Archive) and Ricarda Bergmann (Neue Nationalgalerie)
Registration: Participation fee €6 plus admission. Limited number of participants. Online booking is required to take part at: https://www.smb.museum/veranstaltungen/detail/aus-kuratorischer-sicht-netzwerke-des-surrealismus-2026-04-08-170000-156246/
Workshop on provenance research into human remains at the Ethnological Museum
The collections of the Ethnological Museum Berlin contain several thousand human remains – these include not only human skulls and bones but also all parts of the human body that have been transformed into cultural objects, such as human hair on a rattle. In some cultures, human hair or skin was also incorporated into objects. They found their way into museums in the context of racist scientific and collecting practices of the 19th century. How do we deal with this today? And what form can provenance research even take in this context? The workshop will provide illustrative insights into the ongoing research work. Using concrete case studies, it will become clear what challenges the research faces – both methodologically and ethically. Together, we also want to discuss what repatriation means and what role societies of origin play in these processes.
When: 8 April 2026, 2.30 pm (Duration: approx. 60 minutes)
Where: Dahlem
Research Campus Who: Ilja Labischinski
Registration: The event is free of charge. Limited number of participants. No prior knowledge required. Online booking is recommended to participate at: https://smb.gomus.de/widget/v1/3e09192ed2c46335c9559314bee89c4538fb359e82681822437dbe7afccaf52143b09c6cfa64bd341fbe/dates?by_event_ids%5B%5D=111961
Workshop: Talking Mats – Interwoven Stories at the Ethnological Museum
Mats into which poems and the names of colonial figures are woven? This is the subject of research into a collection of mats from the Lamu Archipelago on the northern coast of Kenya. Now held in the collections of the Ethnological Museum, they were created during a period of European and German colonial endeavours and political upheaval in Lamu and on the mainland opposite. In this workshop, we’ll offer insights into the ongoing research surrounding these extraordinary mats: how do we approach their origins and significance? What traces does colonial history leave in the archives – and what remains invisible? As well as gaining an insight into provenance research, you can get involved yourselves: using prints of historical mats and selected examples from the museum’s archive, you can discover what lies within their patterns – stories, relationships, stages of life.
When: 8 April 2026, 5.00 pm (Duration: approx. 60 minutes)
Where: Dahlem Research Campus
Who: Sophia Bokop
Registration: The event is free of charge. Limited number of participants. No prior knowledge required. Online booking is recommended at: https://smb.gomus.de/widget/v1/3e09192ed2c46335c9559314bee89c4538fb359e82681822437dbe7afccaf52143b09c6cfa64bd341fbe/dates?by_event_ids%5B%5D=111962
Ask the Provenance Researchers
What stories lie behind the objects in museums? Who donated them to the museum, under what circumstances – and what does that mean today? Following each workshop, there will be open discussion sessions entitled “Ask the Provenance Researchers”. Whether you’re curious about specific objects and their stories, want to learn more about the work in the archives and collections of the Ethnological Museum, or want to know how museums deal with their colonial past today – there’s room for all your questions here. No prior knowledge is required. We look forward to talking to you!
When: 8 April 2026, 3.30 pm and 6.30 pm (Duration: approx. 60 minutes)
Where: Dahlem Research Campus
Who: Sophia Bokop, Ilja Labischinski, Sonja Mohr
Registration: The event is free of charge. No prior knowledge required.
All dates at a glance:https://www.smb.museum/veranstaltungen/veranstaltungsreihe/8tag-der-provenienzforschung/
Press images:
www.preussischer-kulturbesitz.de/newsroom/presse/pressebilder.html
Blog posts on Provenance Research Day:
https://blog.smb.museum/
Provenance Research Day
Provenance Research Day is an initiative of the Arbeitskreis Provenienzforschung e.V. (https://www.arbeitskreis-provenienzforschung.org/tag-der-provenienzforschung/), which brings together over 500 researchers and experts worldwide dedicated to researching the provenance of cultural assets.
Preview of further events on the topic of provenance research at Haus Bastian on 15 April, 7 May, 17 September and 26 November 2026:
Haus Bastian