Provenance research into the Abbey Museum collection
Provenance research is an important duty for all museums and collections. It involves finding out where the works come from, to whom they used to belong and the circumstances behind their inclusion in a collection. Provenance research helps to shed light on historical interconnections and to trace the past of objects up to the present day.
There is a particular question mark over those cultural goods acquired in problematic historical contexts. These include in particular works added to collections during the Nazi period. The aim of provenance research is to identify and categorise these artworks as well as clearly signalling their existence.
St. George’s Abbey Museum does this for its museum collection as part of a comprehensive strategy devised by the Federal Office of Culture and in close collaboration with other Swiss federal museums. Provenance research is now firmly established within the operations of Swiss federal museums and integral to their mandate.
Previous work
Provenance research began at the federal level in 1998 with a comprehensive report on the Swiss Confederation’s museums and collections. The provenance research for the Abbey Museum collection was deepened and updated in 2018. The results of this work have been published and form a important basis for further research.
Current work
Provenance research is an ongoing process. New archives and sources become available, current information is reassessed and questions are refined further. The results of other research projects are also relevant. Previous findings about the Abbey Museum's collection are currently being reviewed and updated accordingly. A new status report is scheduled for the end of 2026.
Opportunities for archiving and research
St. George’s Abbey Museum manages an archive with documents dating back to when the Swiss Confederation took over the former monastery in 1926. The archive has minutes of meetings, inventories, correspondence, documents about construction and monument preservation measures, academic reports, etc. This archive is also open to external researchers within the scope of the statutory provisions.
Older archive documents about the history of the former monastery are mainly in the national archives in Zurich and Schaffhausen as well as in the city archives of Stein am Rhein. Please contact St. George’s Abbey Museum if you require further information.
