provenancen.

1628 in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1918) Jan. 36 The whole provenance and profitt thereof shalbe devided into Twentie sixe partes.

1785 E. Sheridan Let. in Betsy Sheridan's Jrnl. (1986) ii. 61 Miss Anstruther as I before mention'd Elegant, fashionable in her appearance, but nothing of that provenance in her manner that caught me so much in Miss Brook.

1861 C. W. King Antique Gems (1866) 80 Supposing this statement as to the provenance of the hoard to be essentially true.

1884 A. Lang Custom & Myth 13 He would have some difficulty in guessing its provenance, and naming the race from which it was brought.

1893 J. T. Bent Ruined Cities Mashonaland vi. 204 Beads of doubtful provenance, though some of them may be considered as Egyptian of the Ptolemaic period.

1966 D. J. Enright Conspirators & Poets i. 29 It would be wrong to dismiss these complaints, whatever their provenance.

1999 Independent on Sunday 6 June i. 13/2 Consumers who are weary of..scrutinising labels for production methods and provenance, are latching on to organic food as a safe haven.

1867 Times 7 Sept. 12/4 Other studies for Titian's ‘Battle of Cadore’ are extant, and their ‘provenance’ from the late Dr. Wellesley's collection is strongly in favour of their authenticity.

1926 J. Buchan Dancing Floor i. vi. 111 If I knew the provenance of the manuscript, I might be able to understand it better.

1946 ‘M. Innes’ From London Far ii. x. 146 That aspect of the history of art which collectors call provenance? Who owned the picture last..and who before that. The ideal is to trace it right back to the studio.

1960 E. A. Lowe Eng. Uncial 21 A Canterbury origin is probable, Canterbury provenance is certain.

1967 J. N. Barron Lang. of Painting 156 Provenance, a history or pedigree of a painting: the establishment of the identity of successive owners since its execution. Also included would be all published documents, catalogues, and journals that contain references to the painting, along with reproductions, exhibitions, and sales records, as well as correspondence, especially of the artist, in which mention of it may be made.

1989 L. Deighton Spy Line xv. 208 I know what he's after: a written statement about the clock's condition and history. That sort of provenance affects the price in auction.

2003 Wired July 43/3 A panel of experts..declined to authenticate the canvas. Without knowing its provenance..they can't be sure Horton's find is legit.

1933 Empire Forestry Jrnl. 12 198 The problem of seed origin embraces both the geographical location where the seed was collected..and the genetic character of the mother trees... In European literature the term ‘provenance’..has come to be used for the first phase of the problem.

1956 M. L. Anderson tr. Köstler Silviculture iii. 89 The first experimental planting, with thirty different provenances of pine, had been carried out as early as 1821.

1970 H. L. Edlin Collins Guide to Tree Planting & Cultivation vi. 100 The true origin of each stock is called its provenance.

2002 New Phytologist 156 364/2 A large experiment was started in 1975 when a total of 92,000 individuals of high elevation provenances..were planted.

1939 Nature 20 May 848/2 Only adequately provenanced objects should be collected; only so can we hope to map, ultimately, the cultural regions of pre-industrial Britain.

1975 Numismatic Chron. 198 (heading) Some provenanced finds of Crusader bezants.

1993 D. Jones in J. M. Fladmark Heritage xxvi. 325 Perhaps enough firmly provenanced items might survive to enable identification of specific regional features.