Provenance Information

Ex coll. David Nalin, United States, purchased in Pakistan or Afghanistan, between March 1968 and September 1969.

Exhibition Information

Selected Acquisitions: Asia to America, Emory University Museum of Art and Archaeology, May 8 - August 8, 1987

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

Gifted to museum in 1985.

Provenance Information

Ex coll. David Nalin, United States, purchased in Pakistan or Afghanistan, between March 1968 and September 1969.

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

Gifted to museum in 1985.

Provenance Information

Ex coll. David Nalin, United States, purchased in Pakistan or Afghanistan, between March 1968 and September 1969.

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

Gifted to museum in 1985.

Provenance Information

Ex coll. David Nalin, United States, purchased in Pakistan or Afghanistan, between March 1968 and September 1969.

Exhibition Information

Selected Acquisitions: Asia to America, Emory University Museum of Art and Archaeology, May 8 - August 8, 1987

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

Gifted to museum in 1985.

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

Reportedly in the Rubin Collection before 1982; Collection of Jeffrey B. Soref from at least 1982 to 2015; Gift of Jeff Soref and Paul Lombardi to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2015.

Exhibition Information

The work was exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1982 in the exhibition Along the Ancient Silk Roads.

Publication Information

U. Von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, Visual Dharma Publications, 1981, p. 79, pl. 3D.

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 work has provenance established to 1981 when it was published in Von Schroeder as from a “Private Collection, photo courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.” The work was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum in 1982. A diminutive image of a Buddha in meditation, on a lotus petal waisted pedestal, framed by a pearl-bordered aureole. The distinctive folds of the upper robe, pleated with V-front in a style familiar from late Kushan stone versions of this subject, points to an early date for Gandharan metal imagery, perhaps 4th century. The early date assigned to this work adds to its significance. The Museum has the premier collection of Gandharan art in the United States, including a uniquely important early bronze seated Buddha and bronze reliquary. This finial depiction of the Buddha lies in direct descent from such early works, and allows the Metropolitan Museum to demonstrate to the public the way in which early Buddha imagery evolved over these early centuries.