Tea and Conversation: Tracing the Life Histories of Objects

Recorded on April 14, 2021

What lives did objects live before coming to the museum? How can we trace their travels across space and time from the moment they were created until the present? In this installment of Tea and Conversation, join researchers Joanna Gohmann and Najiba Choudhury and assistant curator Antonietta Catanzariti to explore the methods they use to trace an object’s biography and ownership history, which is called provenance. This type of research can reveal who owned an object and how its meaning and function have changed over time. In this conversation celebrating the International Day of Provenance Research, get a glimpse of the multifaceted histories embodied in objects and hear fascinating stories about the Freer and Sackler’s collections that include the discovery of long-forgotten treasures, wartime intrigue, and much more.

Joanna M. Gohmann is a provenance researcher and object historian at the Freer and Sackler.
She specializes in the art of eighteenth-century France, especially the French collection and emulation of Chinese decorative arts, as well as the history of collecting and the art market.

Najiba Choudhury is a collections information specialist and provenance researcher at the Freer and Sackler. Her recent projects include research on seizures and liquidation sales in the United States during World War II and the rise and fall of art dealer Yamanaka & Company.

Antonietta Catanzariti is the Robert and Arlene Kogod Secretarial Scholar and assistant curator for the ancient Near East at the Freer and Sackler. She received her PhD in the art and archaeology of the ancient Near East from the University of California, Berkeley, and is an active archaeologist. She has excavated in Italy, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraqi Kurdistan.