2021.145

Measurements
h: 10-1/8 in; w: 1 in
Creation Date
845-903
Credit Line
Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone
Museum Contact
provenance@denverartmuseum.org
Culture
Country of Origin
Object Type
Materials / Techniques
Object URL
https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/object/2021.145
Museum's Definition of Antiquity
Prior to beginning of the Medieval Chusei era (1185 CE)
Provenance Information
Collection of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, Kennett Square, PA, by 2020; gift, Denver Art Museum, 2021.
Exhibition Information
None
Publication Information
None
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 Denver Art Museum has few examples of early calligraphy. This fragment, purportedly attributed to SUGAWARA no Michizane, would fill an important gap in the collection. It provides an opportunity to put this object in the public domain and facilitate future research.

2021.143

Object Title
Lotus Sutra Fragment
Measurements
h: 56 in; w: 27 in
Creation Date
late 800s
Credit Line
Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone
Museum Contact
provenance@denverartmuseum.org
Culture
Country of Origin
Object Type
Materials / Techniques
Object URL
https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/object/2021.143
Museum's Definition of Antiquity
Prior to beginning of the Medieval Chusei era (1185 CE)
Provenance Information
Collection of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, Kennett Square, PA, by 2020; gift, Denver Art Museum, 2021.
Exhibition Information
None
Publication Information
None
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 Denver Art Museum has very few examples of Nara and Heian period sutras. This sutra fills an important gap in the collection and provides an opportunity to put this object in the public domain and facilitate future research.

2021.140

Object Title
Fragment of Flower Ornament Sutra
Measurements
h: 6-1/2 in; w: 19-1/2 in
Creation Date
900-1185
Credit Line
Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone
Museum Contact
provenance@denverartmuseum.org
Culture
Country of Origin
Object Type
Materials / Techniques
Object URL
https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/object/2021.140
Museum's Definition of Antiquity
Prior to beginning of the Medieval Chusei era (1185 CE)
Provenance Information
Collection of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, Kennett Square, PA, by 2020; gift, Denver Art Museum, 2021.
Exhibition Information
None
Publication Information
None
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 sutra fragment purportedly came from Senpuku-ji, which later became an Ōbaku zen temple. The Denver Art Museum is a major repository for Ōbaku Zen materials, and this sutra is an important addition to this collection, offering an opportunity to put this object in the public domain and facilitate future research.

1980.005

Object Title
Scene from Bhagavad Gita
Measurements
8.7 x 13.9 cm
Creation Date
18th Century
Credit Line
Art History Department Fund
Museum Contact
ashanle@emory.edu
Culture
Country of Origin
Object Type
Object URL
https://collections.carlos.emory.edu/objects/3810/a-pandara-elder-planning-war-against-the-kaurar-from-bhagav?ctx=cdf26f1a40b02d16db6636f0d55ec4bee331accc&idx=0
Museum's Definition of Antiquity
Older than 100 years
Provenance Information
Ex coll. Emory University Art History Department, purchased from Marson Graphics Inc., Cockeysville, Maryland, 1980. Transferred to Emory University Museum of Art and Archaeology, ca. 1981.
Exhibition Information
To our knowledge, this object has never been exhibited.
Publication Information
To our knowledge, this object has never been published.
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
Transferred to museum ca. 1981.

2021.135

Measurements
h. 11 in; w. 8-1/4 in
Creation Date
1118-1190
Credit Line
Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone
Museum Contact
provenance@denverartmuseum.org
Culture
Country of Origin
Object Type
Materials / Techniques
Object URL
https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/object/2021.135
Museum's Definition of Antiquity
Prior to beginning of the Medieval Chusei era (1185 CE)
Provenance Information
Collection of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, Kennett Square, PA, by 2020; gift, Denver Art Museum, 2021.
Exhibition Information
None
Publication Information
None
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 is a fine example of calligraphy by an important Heian period poet. It fills an important gap in the collection and provides an opportunity to put this object in the public domain and facilitate future research.

2018.103.3

Object Title
Wall painting fragment showing three offering bearers moving to the right
Measurements
framed: 15 5/8 × 22 × 4 in. (39.7 × 55.9 × 10.2 cm) 9 × 15 3/4 in. (22.9 × 40 cm)
Creation Date
1401–1391 B.C.
Credit Line
Yale University Art Gallery, Bequest of William Kelly Simpson, B.A. 1947, M.A. 1948, Ph.D. 1954
Museum Contact
artgalleryinfo@yale.edu
Culture
Country of Origin
Object Type
Materials / Techniques
Object URL
https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/262981
Museum's Definition of Antiquity
N/A
Provenance Information
Tomb of Sebekhotep (Theban Necropolis Tomb TT63), Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, Egypt [see note 1]. Acquired in New York, by William Kelly Simpson (1928–2017), New York, and Katonah, N.Y.; bequeathed to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 2017

Note 1: Wall painting fragment showing three offering bearers moving to the right was photographed in situ between about 1926–40 as part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Egyptian Expedition by Archaeological photographer and Egyptologist, Harry Burton (1879–1940) (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Department of Egyptian Art Archives, MMA T 2784, copy in accession file) A portion of the fragment was also traced in situ sometime between 1920–40 by Nina M. Davies (1881–1965) and Norman de Garis Davies (1865–1941) (Oxford Griffith Institute, Davies MSS. 10.21.1, copy in accession file)
Exhibition Information
N/A
Publication Information
"Acquisitions July 1, 2017–June 30, 2018," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin: Online Supplement (accessed December 1, 2018), 11
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

2018.103.2

Object Title
Wall painting fragment showing a figure carrying an offering stand
Measurements
"sight: 12 5/8 × 17 3/8 in. (32.1 × 44.1 cm) framed: 19 × 23 1/2 × 2 1/2 in. (48.3 × 59.7 × 6.4 cm)"
Creation Date
1401–1391 B.C.
Credit Line
Yale University Art Gallery, Bequest of William Kelly Simpson, B.A. 1947, M.A. 1948, Ph.D. 1954
Museum Contact
artgalleryinfo@yale.edu
Culture
Country of Origin
Object Type
Materials / Techniques
Object URL
https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/262980
Museum's Definition of Antiquity
N/A
Provenance Information
"Tomb of Sebekhotep (Theban Necropolis Tomb TT63), Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, Egypt [see note 1]. With Galerij Ancient Art, Amsterdam, 1979; William Kelly Simpson (1928–2017), New York, and Katonah, N.Y.; bequeathed to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 2017

Note 1: Wall painting fragment showing a figure carrying an offering stand was photographed in situ between about 1924–40 by three archaeological expeditions and/or epigraphic surveys, including archaeological photographer and Egyptologist, Harry Burton (1879–1940), as part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Egyptian Expedition (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Department of Egyptian Art Archives, MMA T 2774–2777, copy in accession file); by the Chicago Oriental Institute Epigraphic Survey (Chic. Or. Institute Epigraphic Survey, no. 2854, copy in accession file); and by German Egyptologist Siegfried Schott (1897–1971) (Das Digital Schotts-Archiv Trier, no. 4335, copy in accession file)
Exhibition Information
N/A
Publication Information
"Acquisitions July 1, 2017–June 30, 2018," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin: Online Supplement (accessed December 1, 2018), 11
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

L-R 55.2023

Creator
Adriaen van Ostade, Dutch, 1610–1684
Object Title
Customers Conversing in an Interior
Measurements
44.5 × 37.5 cm (17 1/2 × 14 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Promised gift of Susan and Matthew Weatherbie, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art
Creation Date
1671
Object Type
Object URL
https://collections.mfa.org/objects/654685

Claim Resolution

Resolution
Agreement reached, museum retained work
Resolution Date
April 2023
Details of Resolution
In April 2023, Susan and Matthew Weatherbie and the MFA reached an agreement with the heirs of art dealers Paul Graupe and Arthur Goldschmidt, resolving the ownership of Adriaen van Ostade’s painting Customers Conversing in an Interior (1671), which had been sold to Adolf Hitler in the early 1940s. The agreement allows the painting to be retained and exhibited at the MFA, and donated to the Museum at a future date by the Weatherbies.

By 1937, the Ostade panel was part of the stock of Paul Graupe et Cie., a Paris-based gallery run by the Jewish art dealer Paul Graupe. Graupe and his business partner, Arthur Goldschmidt, who was likewise Jewish, had been compelled to leave Nazi Germany for France due to racial persecution. In 1939, Graupe again fled, first to Switzerland, then to Portugal in 1940, and ultimately to the U.S. in 1941. His gallery stock was left behind in occupied Paris. In 1940, after he was sent to an internment camp and conscripted into service, Goldschmidt fled to the south of France, which was then not occupied. Before leaving Europe, Graupe asked for Goldschmidt’s help in saving his gallery stock, including Customers Conversing in an Interior, which he hoped could be sent to Switzerland or the U.S. In February 1941, however, Goldschmidt sold the Ostade to Karl Haberstock, an agent for Hitler. Goldschmidt was able to immigrate to Cuba later that year, making his way to the U.S. in 1946.

Haberstock sold the painting to the Reich Chancellery in April 1941. It was selected for inclusion in the art museum Hitler planned to build in Linz, Austria, the so-called Führermuseum. Customers Conversing in an Interior was recovered by Allied forces after the end of World War II and shipped to France for restitution. It is not known if Graupe ever learned what had happened to it. The painting was not claimed by the end of the 1940s, and as a result the French state auctioned it in 1951. It changed hands several times on the European art market before Susan and Matthew Weatherbie bought it, unaware of its Nazi-era history, in 1992. It is one of 28 Dutch and Flemish paintings the Weatherbies pledged to the MFA in 2017.

1984-45 DJ

Object Title
Funerary Portrait with a Young Man and Small Busts of Isis and Serapis
Measurements
18 1/2 × 14 1/2 × 3/8 in. (47 × 36.8 × 1 cm)
Creation Date
200-250 CE
Museum Contact
pdavis@menil.org; dbennett@menil.org
Country of Origin
Object Type
Materials / Techniques
Object URL
https://www.menil.org/collection/objects/6487-mummy-portrait-of-a-young-man-with-small-busts-of-isis-and-serapis
Museum's Definition of Antiquity
Prior to 5th century CE
Provenance Information
Purchased from Mrs. Alain Rivière (Maison André), Paris, France, 1983 [1];
Acquired by Dominique de Menil, Houston, USA, 1984;
Transferred to the Menil Foundation, Inc., Houston, USA, 1984

[1] Invoice from December 1983. Payment in January 1984 was made to Mrs. Alain Rivière, sister of the seller (name unknown, but indicated by correspondence).
Exhibition Information
No previous exhibition information.
Publication Information
Mazurek, Joy, Marie Svoboda and Michael Schilling. "GC/MS Characterization of Beeswax, Protein, Gum, Resin, and Oil in Romano-Egyptian Paintings." Heritage 2.3 (2019): 1960-1985. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage2030119 [not illustrated, appears in Table 1 only]
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 portrait was purchased by Mrs. de Menil in December 1983 per the invoice date and payment sent in January 1984. The payment was made out to Mrs. Alain Rivière (first name begins with an "S," possibly Sylvie), who was the sister of the seller (name unclear) as directed in the correspondence. The portrait was transferred to the Menil Foundation later in 1984. The museum opened in 1987.

2014.47

Object Title
Fragments of calligraphy
Measurements
H. 5/8 in x W. 6 3/4 in x D. 12 1/4 in, H. 1.6 cm x W. 17.1 cm x D. 31.1 cm (box)
Creation Date
approx. 729 - 793
Credit Line
Gift of the Yeh Family
Museum Name
Culture
Country of Origin
Object Type
Object URL
http://asianart.emuseum.com/view/objects/asitem/items$0040:278
Provenance Information
Acquired by Yeh family in 1919.
Exhibition Information
None that the museum is aware of
Publication Information
None that the museum is aware of
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
Acquired by Yeh family in 1919.

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