Provenance Information

May 17-18, 2001, anonymous sale (Auction 21), Numismatica Ars Classica, Zürich, lot 498. 2001, purchased by Michael C. Ruettgers, Carlisle, MA; 2008, gift of Michael C. Ruettgers to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 17, 2008)

Exhibition Information

None known.

Publication Information

None known.

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Cumulative facts and circumstances

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

The date and circumstances of the coin’s discovery are not known. Gold coins of this type, while struck at Rome, circulated widely and have been found within the present-day borders of many countries. Per the MFA’s 2006 agreement with the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Museum contacted Ministry representatives prior to acquiring the coin; the Ministry raised no objection to the acquisition.

Provenance Information

March 29-30, 2000, anonymous sale (Auction 18), Numismatica Ars Classica, Zürich, lot 487. December 5, 2002, anonymous sale (Auction 24), Numismatica Ars Classica, Zürich, lot 59. 2002 or 2003, purchased by Michael C. Ruettgers, Carlisle, MA; 2008, gift of Michael C. Ruettgers to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 17, 2008)

Exhibition Information

"Rubens and the Baroque Festival," Harvard Art Museum, March 15-August 31, 2010.

Publication Information

None known.

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Cumulative facts and circumstances

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

The date and circumstances of the coin’s discovery are not known. Gold coins of this type, while struck at Rome, circulated widely and have been found within the present-day borders of many countries. Per the MFA’s 2006 agreement with the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Museum contacted Ministry representatives prior to acquiring the coin; the Ministry raised no objection to the acquisition.

Provenance Information

A.D.M. collection, Switzerland. May 12, 2004, anonymous sale (Auction 27), Numismatica Ars Classica, Zürich, Switzerland, lot 10, sold to Cornelius C. Vermeule, III (b. 1925 – d. 2008), Cambridge, MA [see note 1]; 2008, gift of Cornelius C. Vermeule III to the MFA. (Accession Date: October 22, 2008)

NOTES:
[1] Lent by Cornelius Vermeule to the MFA from 2004 until 2008 (loan no. L-T 326.2.2004).

Exhibition Information

“Games for the Gods: The Greek Athlete and the Olympic Spirit,” Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, July 21 – November 28, 2004.

Publication Information

None known.

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Cumulative facts and circumstances

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

The date and circumstances of the coin’s discovery are not known; however, the coinage of Suessa Aurunca circulated locally, and this coin was probably found in the Campania region of Italy. Per the MFA’s 2006 agreement with the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Museum contacted Ministry representatives prior to acquiring the coin; the Ministry raised no objection to the acquisition.

Provenance Information

By 2003, Edward J. Waddell, Ltd., Frederick, MD; August, 2003, sold by Waddell to Cornelius C. Vermeule, III (b. 1925 – d. 2008), Cambridge, MA [see note 1]; 2008, gift of Vermeule to the MFA. (Accession Date: October 22, 2008)

NOTES:
[1] Lent by Cornelius Vermeule to the MFA from 2004 until 2008 (loan no. L-T 326.1.2004).

Exhibition Information

“Games for the Gods: The Greek Athlete and the Olympic Spirit,” Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, July 21 – November 28, 2004.

Publication Information

J. Herrmann and C. Kondoleon, Games For the Gods (exh. cat., MFA, Boston, 2004), pp. 112, 180, fig. 80.

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Cumulative facts and circumstances

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

The date and circumstances of the coin’s discovery are not known, but a Roman Republican silver denarius of this type is most likely to have been found in Italy. Per the MFA’s 2006 agreement with the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Museum contacted Ministry representatives prior to acquiring the coin; the Ministry raised no objection to the acquisition.

Provenance Information

1991, private collection, United States; May 15, 1991, anonymous sale (Auction 52, from “a distinguished American collection”), Bank Leu, A.G., Zurich, lot 223. April 2, 2008, anonymous sale (Auction 46), Numismatica Ars Classica, Zurich, lot 617, to Harlan J. Berk, Ltd., Chicago; 2008, sold by Berk to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 25, 2008)

Exhibition Information

None known.

Publication Information

None known.

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Cumulative facts and circumstances

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

The date and circumstances of the coin’s discovery are not known. Gold coins of this type, while struck at Rome, circulated widely and have been found within the present-day borders of many countries. Per the MFA’s 2006 agreement with the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Museum contacted Ministry representatives prior to acquiring the coin; the Ministry raised no objection to the acquisition.

Provenance Information

T. Fujita, Tokyo, Japan and Lugano, Switzerland in the 1970's; in the collection of the Kurashiki Ninagawa Museum, Kurashiki, Okayama County, Japan, by 1980, then to the Kyoto Girishia Roma Bijutsukan, Kyoto, Japan, until about 2007; sold by Mr. Akira Ninagawa at aution through Christie's New York, New York, June 4, 2008, lot 225, to Phoenix Ancient Art, New York, New York; purchased by the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois in 2009.

Exhibition Information

Das Tier in der Antike, 400 Werke ägyptischer, griechischer, etruskischer, und römischer Kunst aus privatem und öffentlichem Besitz, Zürich Archäologischen Institut der Universität, Zürich , Switzerland, September 21-November 17, 1974).

In collection of Kurashiki Ninagawa Museum, Kurashiki, Okayama County, Japan, by 1980; exhibition dates unknown.

Thereafter in collection of Kyoto Girishia Roma Bijutsukan, Kyoto, Japan, until about 2007; exhibition dates unknown.

International Fine Art and Antique Dealers Show, Seventh Regiment Armory, New York, New York, October 17-23, 2008, Phoenix Ancient Art, Stand B-15.

The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, November 2009-February 2012 in gallery 156; November 2012-present in gallery 152.

Publication Information (list publication name, place(s), title and dates):

Bloesch, Hansjörg, Das Tier in der Antike, 400 Werke ägyptischer, griechischer, etruskischer, und römischer Kunst aus privatem und öffentlichem Besitz (Zürich, Switzerland,1974), p. 53, no. 322, pl. 55, 322a and 322b.

n.a. The Ancient and Modern Art in the Kurashiki Museum (Tokyo, Japan, 1980), pl. 60(A).

Simon, Erika, The Kurashiki Ninagawa Museum: Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities (Mainz on Rhine, Germany, 982, pp. 155, 182-4, no. 115 (illus).

Drukker, Anja, “The Ivy Painter in Friesland,” in Enthousiasmos: Essays on Greek and Related Pottery Presented to J. M. Hemelrijk (Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1986), pp. 39-48, no. 41.

Werner, Ingrid, Dionysos in Etruria: The Ivy Leaf Group, Skrifter Utgivna au Svenska Institutet I Rome, Acta Instituti Romani Regni Seuciae, 4, LVII (Stockholm, Sweden, 2005), p. 31, pl. 27, no. 4/6/6.1.

Christie’s New York Antiquities (New York, New York, June 4, 2008), lot 225.

Phoenix Ancient Art, (Geneva, Switzerland, 2008, 1), pp. 38-39, 104, no. 27.

Art Institute of Chicago, Annual Report 2008-2009 (posted on AIC web site), pp. 19, 25 (ill.).

Publication Information

Published:
Bloesch, Hansjörg, Das Tier in der Antike, 400 Werke ägyptischer, griechischer, etruskischer, und römischer Kunst aus privatem und öffentlichem Besitz (Zürich, 1974), p. 53, no. 322, pl. 55, 322a and 322b.
n.a. The Ancient and Modern Art in the Kurashiki Museum (Tokyo, 1980), pl. 60(A).
Simon, Erika, The Kurashiki Ninagawa Museum: Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities (Mainz on Rhine), 1982, pp. 155, 182-4, no. 115 (illus).
Drukker, Anja, “The Ivy Painter in Friesland,” in Enthousiasmos: Essays on Greek and Related Pottery Presented to J. M. Hemelrijk (Amsterdam, 1986), pp. 39-48, no. 41.
Werner, Ingrid, Dionysos in Etruria: The Ivy Leaf Group, Skrifter Utgivna au Svenska Institutet I Rome, Acta Instituti Romani Regni Seuciae, 4, LVII (Stockholm, 2005), p. 31, pl. 27, no. 4/6/6.1.
Christie’s New York Antiquities, June 4, 2008, lot 225.
Phoenix Ancient Art, (Geneva, Switzerland, 2008, 1), pp. 38-39, 104, no. 27.
The Art Institute of Chicago, Annual Report 2008-2009 (posted on AIC web site), pp. 19, 25 (ill.).

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Cumulative facts and circumstances

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

The cumulative facts and circumstances known to the Art Institute of Chicago at the time of the acquisition allowed it to make an informed judgment to acquire the object. The 2008 Christie’s catalog cited the provenance for the object as “with T. Fujita, 1970s.” Mr. Fujita is now deceased, and two letters to Mr. Akira Ninagawa of the Kurashiki Ninagawa Museum requesting additional information regarding the object's prior ownership remain unanswered. However, the object has been published eight times since 1974, and also has an extensive exhibition history. In addition, this acquisition furthers the representation of the artistic achievements of all civilizations in art museums because it is an extremely fine example of an Etruscan vase that emulates a Greek vessel shape and decorative technique.

Provenance Information

Sold at auction by Sotheby's New York, December 17, 1992, lot 153, consigned by Barbara Piasecka Johnson; acquired by Lewis M. Dubroff, Manlius, New York. The work has been on loan to The Metropolitan Museum of Art from Mr. Dubroff since 1993. Mr. Dubroff donated the work to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2009.

Exhibition Information

The work was on display in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Roman gallery from 1994 until 2001 and, following the renovation of those galleries, the work has been on display in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s new Roman court since 2007.

Publication Information

The work was published in the Sotheby’s auction catalogue in 1992.

Malgouyres, Philippe and Clément Blanc-Riehl. 2003. Porphyre. La pierre pourpre des Ptolémées aux Bonaparte. Paris: Réunion des musées nationaux-Grand Palais, p. 89, fig. 41.

Lightfoot, Christopher S. 2007. "Recent Acquisitions, A Selection: 2006–2007." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 65(2): p. 9.

Del Bufalo, Dario. 2012. Porphyry. Red Imperial Porphyry. Power and Religion. Turin: Umberto Allemandi & C, no. L19, p. 166.

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Cumulative facts and circumstances

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

This work has provenance established to at least 1992 when the work was published and offered for sale at public auction, and the work was published again in 2003. The work has been exhibited publicly from 1994 to 2001 and from 2007 to the present date. The work is a rare example of Roman porphyry sculpture that has escaped reuse or confinement in a medieval building and would add significantly to The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection.