Provenance beyond the Single Object: Comparative, Transnational, and Postcolonial Research on Indonesian Collections in Lower Saxony

Based on ongoing work across eight museums in Lower Saxony, this paper asks how provenance research can approach colonial collections dispersed across institutions, countries, and archives. More than 1,400 objects are examined alongside sources in Germany, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. Their trajectories expose the colonial infrastructures behind collecting: plantation economies, missionary networks, scientific mobility, and administrative careers. Fragmented records, inherited classifications, and locally situated knowledge pose both practical and epistemological challenges. The paper discusses how transnational archival work and collaboration with Indonesian partners can bridge these gaps while challenging established categories and interpretations. Provenance thus becomes more than the recovery of object histories: it offers a way to examine colonial structures and their enduring effects on present-day museum practice.