April 4th/5th 2022, International conference on PROVENANCE RESEARCH

Looted Assets – Flight Assets
International conference on provenance research in the field of string instruments and the role of Switzerland in the instrument trade since the 1930s
An initiative of the Swiss School of Violin Making Brienz in collaboration with the Hochschule der Künste Bern and the Institute of Musicology at the University of Bern.

More than 20 years after the recommendations of the Washington Conference Principles formulated in 1998 with regard to cultural property confiscated by the Nazi, provenance research has established itself primarily in the museum sector and in art history, and has been able to show considerable results in some cases.
Provenance research on looted musical instruments is just as little systematised as in other fields. Researchers are confronted with numerous obstacles, not least because basic research, such as the opening and indexing of relevant archives, is still a desideratum in many places. Moreover, this particular field of research requires multidisciplinary expertise. It makes sense to choose an interdisciplinary approach for a profitable reappraisal and to bring together experts from the fields of provenance research, history and jurisprudence, violin making and instrument trade, music and musicology as well as restoration and art technology. This conference is intended to make a lasting contribution to this professional networking.

Program