Provenance
Provenance
Provenance is not paperwork added after completion. It begins with the physical cooperage and the evidence that accompanies it.
Each completed collector artefact is intended to receive a unique Artefact Register Identification Number. The dossier distinguishes design identity, edition status where applicable, material source, construction record and photographic record.
Unknowns remain unknown. Distillery origin, previous fill, dates, cask history and chain of custody are stated only where they can be supported.
Source
The record begins with the physical cask, its identifying marks and the documentary basis for any origin claim.
Allocation
Where several casks contribute to a work, material allocation is recorded so source and object remain traceable.
Workshop
Receipt, dismantling, selection, fabrication and completion are documented rather than reconstructed from memory.
Authenticity
The completed artefact, certificate, unique register identity and archive entry are cross-referenced as one chain of identity.
Evidence before narrative.
The value of provenance comes from restraint. The record is strongest when it states precisely what is known, preserves uncertainty where evidence stops, and remains with the artefact through future ownership.