Date: Monday, 16 November 2026
Time: 14:00–17:00
Venue: Walter Benjamin Room, Galerie Colbert, INHA, Paris

Noémie Étienne, Professor of Art History at the University of Vienna and member of the Heritage Studies Vienna team, will participate in the inaugural session of the research seminar Provenances: Methodological and Theoretical Foundations at the Institut national d’histoire de l’art (INHA) in Paris.

Titled Materiality: Tracing Objects through Transformations, Deformations, and Disappearances, the session examines the material traces of objects as a primary source for provenance research. Inscriptions, restorations, alterations, and other material changes offer insights into the trajectories of objects while raising methodological questions about how such evidence can be interpreted.

Bringing together perspectives from art history, conservation, and conservation-restoration, the discussion will address a range of objects, from musical instruments to archaeological artefacts. Noémie Étienne will be joined by Néguine Mathieux (Musée Carnavalet) and Ariane Théveniaud (C2RMF).

The seminar is organised in partnership with the École du Louvre as part of the UNESCO Chair Sensitive Cultural Heritage, Provenance Research and International Issues. It is aimed at doctoral researchers, professionals, and scholars working on questions of provenance.

Scientific Committee

The seminar's scientific committee includes Isabelle Anatole-Gabriel (École du Louvre Research Centre), Claire Barbillon (École du Louvre), Yaëlle Biro (INHA), Catherine Chevillot (French Museums Service), Noémie Étienne (University of Vienna), Alexandre Girard-Muscagorry (INHA), and Anne-Solène Rolland (INHA).

Further information: INHA event page