Provenance Information

Private collection, Lahore, Pakistan, 1960s; by descent to private collection, New York, 1995; sale, Christie’s, New York, March 15, 2017, lot 242; sold to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 2017

Exhibition Information

N/A

Publication Information

"Acquisitions July 1, 2016–June 30, 2017," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (2017), 21

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

N/D

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

N/A

Provenance Information

Ex private collection, United States, assembled in Iran, 1970s.

Exhibition Information

MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, August 28, 2021 - Present

Publication Information

To our knowledge, this object has never been published.

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 Carlos continues to conduct provenance research on this and all objects in our collection.

Provenance Information

Purchased for MCCM by Robert Walzer [Nathan Rubin - Ida Ladd Family Foundation], Georgetown, Connecticut, from Sotheby's New York, Sale 7447, March 23, 2000, lot 31.

Exhibition Information

MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 2004 - April 4, 2021;
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, August 28, 2021 - Present

Publication Information

Sotheby's New York, Indian and Southeast Asian Art (March 23, 2000), lot 31.

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

Gift or bequest expected or on loan prior to 2008

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

Acquired by museum in 2001.

Provenance Information

London-based Pakistani collector; acquired by John Eskenazi Ltd., New York; sold to The Rubin - Ladd Foundation, New York, and Georgetown, Conn, October 30, 2002; given to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 2015

Exhibition Information

ReKahn - Asian, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.

Katonah Museum of Art , October 17, 2004 - Jan 9, 2005 Honolulu Academy of Arts, Jan 26 - May 29, 2005 Rubin Museum of Art, June 14 - Sept 4, 2005

Publication Information

Kathryn H. Selig Brown, Eternal Presence: Handprints and Footprints in Buddhist Art, exh. cat. (Katonah, N.Y.: Katonah Museum of Art, 2004), 34–35, pl. 1.

“Acquisitions July 1, 2015–June 30, 2016,” https://artgallery.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Pub_Bull_acquisitions_2016.pdf (accessed December 1, 2016).

David Ake Sensabaugh, “Footprints of the Buddha,” Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (2017): 84, fig. 1.

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

N/D

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

N/A

Provenance Information

S. Osman Ali, Karachi, Pakistan and Washington, D.C. J. William Middendorf II (born 1924), Washington, D.C., by 1976; sold, Sotheby Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, Apr. 21, 1976, lot 123, to James W. Alsdorf (1913–1990) and Marilynn B. Alsdorf (1925–2019), Winnetka and Chicago, IL; by descent to Marilynn B. Alsdorf, Chicago, 1990 [on long-term loan at the Art Institute of Chicago, July 15, 1997; publicly promised as a gift to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1997; signed a promised gift agreement for the work, 2002]; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2021.

Exhibition Information

Art Institute of Chicago, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Aug. 2–Oct. 26, 1997, cat. 110.

Publication Information

Pratapaditya Pal with contributions by Stephen Little, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago in association with Thames and Hudson, 1997), 94 (ill.), 296–97, cat. 110.

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 acquisition falls within two exceptions of gift or bequest expected or on loan prior to 2008 and cumulative facts and circumstances. First, 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 object was purchased by James Alsdorf and Marilynn Alsdorf, Winnetka and Chicago, Illinois, from Sotheby Parke–Bernet Galleries, New York in 1976, according to the receipt, a copy of which is in the curatorial object file. According to the auction catalog, the object was previously in the collection of J. William Middendorf II in Washington, D.C., and, at an unspecified date, in the prior collection of S. Osman Ali, Karachi Pakistan. Attempts to determine from whom S. Osman Ali acquired the object were unsuccessful. The object was exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1997, and published in the accompanying catalog: A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art (1997). The acquisition is the only sculpture representing a seated Buddha in dharmachakrapravartanamudra (turning the wheel of law) from the Graeco-Buddhist art of ancient Gandhara. The acquisition depicts the Buddha’s first sermon after enlightenment; it therefore will contribute to a more fulsome story of Buddhism as presented in our galleries. Second, the acquisition of the object was by gift and the object was on loan to the Art Institute prior to 2008. The Alsdorfs lent the object to the Art Institute of Chicago on July 15, 1997; Marilynn Alsdorf publicly promised the object as a gift to the museum in 1997; and the object joined a larger group of promised gifts in an agreement signed in 2002.

Provenance Information

James W. Alsdorf (1913–1990) and Marilynn B. Alsdorf (1925–2019), Winnetka and Chicago, IL, by 1990 [according to the collecting practices of the Alsdorfs]; by descent to Marilynn B. Alsdorf, Chicago, 1990 [on long-term loan at the Art Institute of Chicago, Sept. 17, 1997; publicly promised as a gift to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1997; signed a promised gift agreement for the work, 2002]; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2021.

Exhibition Information

Art Institute of Chicago, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Aug. 2–Oct. 26, 1997, cat. 108.

Publication Information

Pratapaditya Pal with contributions by Stephen Little, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago in association with Thames and Hudson, 1997), 93 (ill.), 296, cat. 108.

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 acquisition falls within two exceptions: cumulative facts and circumstances as well as gift or bequest expected or on loan prior to 2008. First, 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 exact date that the Alsdorfs purchased this object is unknown, but based on their collecting practices, the object was acquired before the death of James Alsdorf on April 24, 1990. Attempts to determine from whom the Alsdorfs acquired the object were unsuccessful. The object was exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1997, and published in the accompanying catalog: A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art (1997). The object was displayed publicly there, in the Alsdorf Galleries of Indian, Southeast Asian, Himalayan and Islamic Art from 2021 to the present. In addition, the object will be the only example in the Art Institute’s collection of an architectural fragment of a gable from a Gandharan stupa, rendered in the Greco-Roman style, which originated during the Kushan period (2nd/3rd century CE). Second, the acquisition of the object was by gift and the object was on loan to the Art Institute prior to 2008. The Alsdorfs lent the object to the Art Institute of Chicago on Sept. 17, 1997; Marilynn Alsdorf publicly promised the object as a gift to the museum in 1997; and the object joined a larger group of promised gifts in an agreement signed in 2002.

Provenance Information

Ex private collection, Texas, acquired late 1950s. Thence by descent. Purchased by MCCM from Sue McGovern-Huffman [Sands of Time Ancient Art], Washington, DC.

Exhibition Information

MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, March 17, 2016 - January 17, 2017
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, February 1, 2017 - April 4, 2021
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, August 28, 2021 - Present

Publication Information

Unpublished

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

Was reported to have been in a private US collection since the 1950s.

Provenance Information

In the collection of Christian Humann (Pan-Asian Collection), New York, by 1977 until his death in 1982; Sold to Robert H. Ellsworth, New York, as estate sale in 1982; Purchased by Alice Boney, New York, from Ellsworth, by 1984; Sold to Herbert and Florence Irving, New York, in 1984; Collection of Florence and Herbert Irving from 1984 through 2015; Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2015.

Exhibition Information

On view continuously since 1994 in the Florence and Herbert Irving Galleries for the Arts of South and Southeast Asia at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Los Angeles. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. “The Sensuous Immortals”, October 25, 1977–January 16, 1978. Additional venues: Seattle. Seattle Art Museum, March 9, 1978–April 23, 1978. Denver. Denver Art Museum, May 26, 1978–July 30, 1978. Kansas City. William Rockhill Nelson Gallery, September 13, 1978–October 29, 1978.

Publication Information

Behrendt, Kurt A. The Art of Gandhara in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York : Metropolitan Museum of Art ; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007, pp. 39–41.

Pal, Pratapaditya. The Sensuous Immortals: A Selection of Sculptures from the Pan-Asian Collection. Exh. cat. Los Angeles : Los Angeles County Museum of Art ; Cambridge, Mass.: distributed by the MIT Press, [1977], pp. 32-33.

Published on The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s online collection database (http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection) as of July 2015.

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

Gift or bequest expected or on loan prior to 2008

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

The relief panel has been exhibited and published as early as 1977. It has been on loan at The Metropolitan Museum of Art since 1993. It has also been on display in the Florence and Herbert Irving Galleries for the Arts of South and Southeast Asian Art since 1994.

Provenance Information

Purchased from Alice Boney, New York, in 1984 by Herbert and Florence Irving, New York; Collection of Florence and Herbert Irving from 1984 through 2015; Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2015.

Exhibition Information

On view continuously since 1993 in the Florence and Herbert Irving Galleries for the Arts of South and Southeast Asia at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Publication Information

Published on The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s online collection database (http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection) as of July 2015.

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

Gift or bequest expected or on loan prior to 2008

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

The lions have been on loan and on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Florence and Herbert Irving Galleries for the Arts of South and Southeast Asian Art since 1993.

Provenance Information

Purchased by Mr. James W. Alsdorf, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., from David Newman, London in 1980. Mr. Newman is deceased and attempts to determine when and from whom he acquired the object were unsuccessful. Mrs. James W. Alsdorf publicly promised the object to the Art Institute of Chicago in 1997, signed a promised gift agreement for the object in 2002, and gave the object to the Art Institute in 2015.

Exhibition Information

"A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection" – The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (August 2 – October 26, 1997).

“Art of Devotion from Gandhara” Columbia, Missouri, Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Missouri (June 8–December 10, 2000).

The object has been displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, in the Alsdorf Galleries of Indian, Southeast Asian, Himalayan and Islamic Art, from November 2008 to the present.

Publication Information

Pratapaditya Pal with contributions by Stephen Little, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection (The Art Institute of Chicago in association with Thames and Hudson, New York, 1997) p. 147: 192, p. 315.

Isao Kurita, Gandharan Art II: The World of the Buddha (Tokyo: Takao Watanabe, 1990), fig. 622.

Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago (July - September, 1981), pp. 4-7.

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

Also: Gift or bequest expected or on loan prior to 2008. This acquisition falls within two exceptions. First, 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. This object was acquired by Mr. Alsdorf in 1980 from Mr. David Newman, London. Mr. Newman is deceased and attempts to determine when and from whom he acquired the object were unsuccessful. It has been exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1997 and since December 2008 as well as included in an exhibition in Missouri. The object has been published various times, including in a major catalogue of South Asian art, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art (1997), and in a major compendium on Gandharan art, Kurita, Gandharan Art II: The World of the Buddha (1990). In addition, the acquisition furthers the representation of the artistic achievements of all civilizations in art museums because it is a fine sculpture of a guardian figure from the Kushan period which flourished in present day Pakistan during the 2nd/3rd century AD. Second, the acquisition of the object was by gift and the object was promised to the Art Institute prior to 2008. Mrs Alsdorf publicly promised the object to the Art Institute of Chicago in 1997 and thereafter signed a promised gift agreement for the object in 2002.