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About
Methodology
List of Works

Nazi-Era Provenance Research Project

In October of 2000, the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) and the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States (PCHA) agreed upon a standard procedure for presenting provenance information on Nazi-era objects to the public.

In compliance with the AAM criteria, the Jewish Museum is researching the provenance, or history of ownership for paintings and Judaica that fall within the following criteria:

Acquired after 1932
Created before 1946
Which may have changed hands between 1932–1946
Which may have been in continental Europe during those years

This site will be updated in installments as new information is discovered and documentation and images are digitized. Currently, the information presented on this website includes paintings and Judaica with gaps in provenance as well as paintings and Judaica with complete provenance. As always, the Museum's archival collection records are open to serious researchers by appointment. For any information or queries about this Provenance Research Project list, please see Contact Information.

We hope that this material will be helpful in the identification and restitution of works of art that may have been misappropriated during the Nazi era. The Museum also welcomes any provenance related information that the users of this site may be able to provide.

Online Resource Directory

Methodology

As the works are identified, they are physically examined for markings that would be helpful in determining provenance. The documentation of these works are verified using the following methods:

Artist / Maker

When no signature appears on the work, primary resources are used to identify the maker. If a definitive answer is unavailable the artist/maker is referred to as “Unknown.”

Title

Primary titles and known original language or alternate titles are listed.

Execution Date

Whenever possible, the execution date of the painting is taken directly from the physical work. If the date does not appear in the artist's hand on the work, the artist's life dates along with an examination of his body of work are used to determine an approximate date. An execution date determined in this manner will appear in parentheses. Example: (1946)

Medium

Physical examination determined this criteria.

Dimensions

Dimensions listed on this web-site refer to unframed measurements posted as height followed by width.

How to Read Provenance Information

Owners are listed in chronological order with the earliest known owner first. The owner's name is followed by their place of residence and the date(s) of ownership are enclosed in parentheses. Example: John Doe, New York, N.Y. (1930-d.1970)

Possible owners are prefaced by a question mark. Imprecise information is enclosed in brackets. Direct transfers between owners is noted with a semi-colon. If a direct transfer did not occur or the type of transfer is unknown, the owners are separated by a period.

Questions & More information

If you have any questions or information to provide on the listed works, please contact: provenance@thejm.org

Collections Manager

Provenance Research Project

The Jewish Museum

1109 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10128

Nazi-Era Provenance List of Works

Johann Valentin Schüler

Sabbath/Festival Lamp

Silver: cast, repoussé, and engraved

Overall: 31 1/2 × 14 3/4 × 14 3/4 in. (80 × 37.5 × 37.5 cm)

JM 37-52

On View
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Inscription
On flags engraved: [Hebrew inscriptions] Translation: "In ever-lasting memory of the pious this Eternal Light is a gift of the widow Mathilde Freifrau von Rothschild" and "in honor of the memory of her husband S[h]imon the venerable Wilhelm Freiherr von Rothschild of blessed memory 663 [1903]". [Source: mastercard]
Acquisition
Jewish Cultural Reconstruction
Provenance
Frankfurt Jewish Community; unknown owner; heirless object salvaged from post-Nazi Europe by the Jewish Cultural Reconstruction (JCR), the cultural arm of the Jewish Restitution Successor Organization (JRSO); transferred to the Jewish Museum, 1952
Date Made
1680–1720
Marks
Hallmarks: Frankfurt eagle in round field on lower edge of catch bowl stamped Unidentifiable mark with effaced symbol in circle in uppermost section near proper right foot of lion stamped Maker's mark: letter "S" inside letter "V" in heart-shaped field on lower edge of lamp stamped

Jacob Willemsz de Wet the Elder

Moses Striking the Rock

Oil on panel

8 1/4 × 12 3/4 in. (21 × 32.4 cm)

F 4235.2

Not On View
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Acquisition
Gift of Dr. Harry G. Friedman
Provenance
?. Dr. Harry G. Friedman (until 1956)
Date Made
c. 1650

Unknown

Aquamanile (Handwashing Vessel)

Copper alloy: cast and engraved

9 1/2 × 10 7/8 × 4 1/4 in. (24.1 × 27.6 × 10.8 cm)

2013-16

On View
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Inscription
inscribed in Hebrew: "T[his is the] d[onation of] t[he] y[oung man], Berakhi[ah] Segal [the Levite]"
Acquisition
Purchase: Gift of The Kagan-Katz-Kivel Families, by exchange; Traditional Judaica Acquisitions Committee and Endowment Interest Funds; Henry and Lucy Moses Fund; Henry Herzog Family and Friends Fund in memory of Ruth Herzog; Helen and Jack Cytryn Fund; and Traditional Judaica Acquisitions Fund
Provenance
?. M. Eckstein, Jermyn Street, London. sold to Peter and his son Michael Ehrenthal, owners of Moriah Gallery, New York, 1970s; sold to Leopold and Ruth Blumka New York; [sold to Leon Black, 1995 who immediately returned it]; sold to Michael and Judy Steinhardt, 1996 (on loan to Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002 until circa 2008; exhibited at the Bard Graduate Center, 2006; exhibited at the Jewish Museum, 2008 until 2012); Sotheby’s sale no. 8961, lot 51, April 29, 2013; purchased by the Jewish Museum
Date Made
late 12th century with later inscription

Johann Valentin Schüler

Hanukkah Lamp

Silver: repoussé, engraved, traced, punched, appliqué, parcel-gilt, and cast

9 7/8 × 11 1/2 × 3 1/2 in. (25.1 × 29.2 × 8.9 cm)

JM 19-64

On View
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Acquisition
Purchase: Norman S. Goetz, Mr. and Mrs. Henry A. Loeb, Mr. and Mrs. Henry L. Marx, Ira A. Schur, Lawrence A. Wien, Leonard Block, Gustave L. Levy, and Robert I. Wishnick Gifts
Provenance
?.(in France sometime around 1893 and 1940-50s). Mr. and Mrs. Michael M. Zagayski (acquired between 1940 and 1959); [sale, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York March 18-19, 1964, no. 305]
Date Made
late 17th century
Marks
Hallmarks: Frankfurt eagle in round field; very small swan or duck standing facing left in oval field [French import stamp] Maker's mark: Letter "S" inside letter "V" in heart-shaped field

Jacob Willemsz de Wet the Elder

Moses Striking the Rock

Oil on panel

8 1/4 × 25 1/2 in. (21 × 64.8 cm)

F 4235.1

Not On View
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Provenance
?. Dr. Harry G. Friedman (until 1961)
Date Made
c. 1650

Bernhardt van Zeets

Passover Plate

Pewter: wrigglework and engraved

Height: 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm); Diameter: 17 in. (43.2 cm)

2010-50

On View
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Inscription
Along rim, handwritten in Hebrew, "Order of seder / AA"
Acquisition
Gift of the Collection of Joseph and Fanya Gottesfeld-Heller
Provenance
?. Fanya Gottesfeld-Heller, New York (until 2010); donated to TJM
Date Made
late 17th–early 18th century; decoration: 18th–early 19th century
Signed
Yes
Marks
"IGD" etched on rim "GWD(?)" etched on rim "ENGEL...OCKTIN / BERNHARDT VAN ZEETS" maker's mark stamped three times on verso, near center. (See object file for diagram) "1179" handwritten in ink twice on rim verso

Unknown

Figure of an Angel from a Hanging Lamp

Brass: cast

6 5/8 × 5 1/8 × 2 1/8 in. (16.8 × 13.1 × 5.5 cm)

JM 1-52

On View
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Acquisition
Jewish Cultural Reconstruction
Provenance
?.Schnaittach synagogue, Bavaria, destroyed 1938; heirless objects salvaged from post-Nazi Europe by the Jewish Cultural Reconstruction (JCR), the cultural arm of the Jewish Restitution Successor Organization (JRSO); transferred to the Jewish Museum, 1952
Date Made
17th century

Samuel van Hoogstraten

Portrait of a Man (previously thought to be Baruch Spinoza)

Oil on canvas

39 3/8 × 30 in. (100 × 76.2 cm)

JM 84-69

Not On View
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Inscription
[Verso canvas restretched/religned, no longer visible]
Acquisition
Gift of Mrs. William Teweles and Mr. Andre Emmerich
Provenance
?. a private collector in Berlin, Germany (by 1929). Dr. H. Emmerich, New York, NY and Frankfurt, Germany (by 1952); his son and daughter, Andre Emmerich, New York, NY and Nicole Teweles, Milwaukee, WI (until 1969)
Date Made
1670
Signed
Yes
Marks
Stickers (2) "L 2-69" in ink, stretcher U and LC

Unknown

Spice Container

Silver: traced, pierced, cast, and parcel-gilt

9 5/16 × 2 7/8 × 2 7/8 in. (23.7 × 7.3 × 7.3 cm)

JM 23-52

On View
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Inscription
On the back in Hebrew in three lines: "Rekhlah daughter of Eliezer Dayan 5411=1650/51]"
Acquisition
Jewish Cultural Reconstruction
Provenance
?.Frankfurt Jewish Community; ?.heirless object salvaged from post-Nazi Europe by the Jewish Cultural Reconstruction (JCR), the cultural arm of the Jewish Restitution Successor Organization (JSRO); transferred to the Jewish Museum, 1952
Date Made
c. 1550, repairs and additions 1650/51