Origin or source.
Example:
The wedding guests wondered about the provenance of the mysterious woman, about whom Seth had never breathed a word.
Provenance refers to any source or origin in general, but is used particularly to refer to the history of ownership of a piece of art, which may be necessary to prove that a work is authentic. The provenance of Ruben's paintings is varied; some have been in a single family or in a single museum for centuries, while some have been lost without a trace, leaving their provenance a mystery. Tracing the provenance of an idea or invention such as television may be a complicated task.