"Provenance is the history of ownership of an artwork or other artifact and provides important information about the attribution (determination of authorship) of the object." The Smithsonian Institution is doing time-consuming detective work to determine if certain objects in their collections were wrongfully taken during World War II by Nazis. Clicking on "What is Provenance Research?" at the top of the homepage takes the visitor to several sections explaining what provenance research is and isn't, and what it shows and doesn't show. It also gives a brief explanation as to "What is World War II Cultural Property?" The Smithsonian's object database allows visitors to learn more about the provenance of their collection, and it is accessible on the right side of the page. Several important additional research resources are also listed on the right side of the page, such as "lost art databases", "provenance websites", and "research sites".