RQ-11 · Open
Can any owner of this sheet before 2023 be identified?
DifficultyhighOpened2026-08-12Updated2026-08-12
Why it matters
The provenance is a 385-year blank followed by one documented sale. Any evidenced point inside that blank is a substantive addition — not because it makes the object more valuable, but because a print with a traceable history is a different research object from one without. Impressions with recorded provenance can be placed in collections, and collections can be dated, which loops back to when the sheet was printed.
What the record currently holds
None. No collector mark has been observed because the verso has not been examined. The consignor to the 2023 sale is not known to the project.
Method
- 01Examine the verso for marks and inscriptions (RQ-07); identify any mark by its Lugt number.
- 02If a mark is identified, search the relevant collection's sale catalogues and the standard provenance indexes.
- 03Ask the auction house whether the consignor consents to be named — often they do not, and that answer is itself worth recording.
What would resolve it
A collector's mark, a dealer's stock number, or an entry in an earlier sale catalogue that can be matched on measurements and condition features.