Provenance (from French 'provenir': to come from) is the documented history of a work of art's ownership from its creation to the present. A complete provenance traces every owner, sale, exhibition and publication in which the work has appeared. Provenance is critical for establishing authenticity, preventing the trade in stolen art, resolving claims for works looted during the Nazi era, and verifying that works have not been illegally exported from their country of origin. The moral dimension of provenance has become central to contemporary museum practice: claims for restitution of works held in Western museums have increased dramatically since the 1998 Washington Principles on Nazi-confiscated art. A work that passed through a major collection, or appeared in a significant exhibition, gains provenance value; a work that 'surfaced' with no history raises immediate suspicion.