Provenance covers an object's complete documented history. An artifact may thus have both a provenience and a provenance. The provenance of works of fine art, antiques and antiquities is of great importance, especially to their owner. There are a number of reasons why painting provenance is important, which mostly also apply to other types of fine art. A good provenance increases the value of a painting, and establishing provenance may help confirm the date, artist and, especially for portraits, the subject of a painting. It may confirm whether a painting is genuinely of the period it seems to date from. The
Provenance also be shipping labels. In the BBC TV programme "Fake or Fortune?" the provenance of the painting "Bords de la Seine à Argenteuil" was investigated using a gallery sticker and shipping label on the back. Early provenance can sometimes be indicated by a "cartellino" (a representation of an inscribed label) added to the front of a painting. However, these can be forged, or can fade or be painted over. Auction records are an important resource to assist in researching the provenance of paintings. If a painting has been in private hands for an extended period and on display in a