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

Rubin-Ladd Foundation, Georgetown, Conn., to 2017; gift to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.

Exhibition Information

The San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX, 2003-2012

Publication Information

“Acquisitions July 1, 2016–June 30, 2017,” https://artgallery.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/bulletin/Pub-Bull-acquisitions-2017.pdf (accessed December 1, 2017).

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

Rubin-Ladd Foundation, Georgetown, Conn., to 2017; gift to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.

Exhibition Information

The San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX, 2003-2012

Publication Information

“Acquisitions July 1, 2016–June 30, 2017,” https://artgallery.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/bulletin/Pub-Bull-acquisitions-2017.pdf (accessed December 1, 2017).

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

Rubin-Ladd Foundation, Georgetown, Conn., to 2017; gift to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.

Exhibition Information

The San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX, 2003-2012

Publication Information

“Acquisitions July 1, 2016–June 30, 2017,” https://artgallery.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/bulletin/Pub-Bull-acquisitions-2017.pdf (accessed December 1, 2017).

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

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

Acquired on the London market by Simon Digby (b. 1932–d. 2010) in the 1970s; Collection of Simon Digby, Jersey Island, United Kingdom; Purchased by The Metropolitan Museum of Art from the Estate of Simon Digby through John Sidumak in 2014.

Exhibition Information

Exhibited in Asia Week, 2014, Indian and Himalayan Sculpture, John Siudmak at Boerner Gallery, 23 East 73rd Street, New York, New York.

Publication Information

Indian and Himalayan Sculpture, John Siudmak, sale catalogue, 2014, pp. 14–15.

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 was acquired in London in the 1970s and remained in the Collection of Simon Digby until its acquisition by the Metropolitan Museum. Simon Digby, who was born in India to English parents, was a former curator of the Ashmolean Museum and later an independent scholar. This Head of Vaitunkta Vishnu comes from a region in what is today northern Pakistan. The work is likely associated with the Brahmanical mountain complex known as Kashmir Smast, active in the 6th–early 7th century. The iconography represented by works from this site has been of seminal importance in building scholars’ understanding of the evolution of Brahmanical imagery in north-western India generally. Although small in scale, this head of Vishnu represents an important historical moment in the region’s history, witnessed by a shift from Indian Gupta-type crowns to one of Sasanian inspiration, reflecting 6th century regional political re-alliances. It allows a greater understanding of early Vishnu imagery from the northwestern region of the subcontinent.

Provenance Information

Acquired on the London market by Simon Digby (b. 1932–d. 2010) in the 1970s; Collection of Simon Digby, Jersey Island, United Kingdom; Purchased by The Metropolitan Museum of Art from the Estate of Simon Digby through John Siudmak in 2014.

Exhibition Information

Exhibited in Asia Week, 2014, Indian and Himalayan Sculpture, John Siudmak at Boerner Gallery, 23 East 73rd Street, New York, New York.

Publication Information

Indian and Himalayan Sculpture, John Siudmak, sale catalogue, 2014, pp. 14–15.

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 was acquired in London in the 1970s and remained in the Collection of Simon Digby until its acquisition by the Metropolitan Museum. Simon Digby, who was born in India to English parents, was a former curator of the Ashmolean Museum and later an independent scholar. This Head of Addorsed Maheshvara comes from a region in what is today northern Pakistan. The work is likely associated with the Brahmanical mountain complex known as Kashmir Smast, active in the 6th–early 7th century. The iconography represented by works from this site has been of seminal importance in building scholars’ understanding of the evolution of Brahmanical imagery in north-western India generally. Although small in scale, this work nonetheless represents an important early stage in the esoteric iconographic development of Shiva, which is otherwise unrepresented in the Museum’s holdings, thus allowing a greater understanding of early Saiva imagery from the northwestern region of the subcontinent.

Provenance Information

Acquired on the London market by Simon Digby (b. 1932–d. 2010) in the 1970s; Collection of Simon Digby, Jersey Island, United Kingdom; Purchased by The Metropolitan Museum of Art from the Estate of Simon Digby through John Siudmak in 2014.

Exhibition Information

Exhibited in Asia Week, 2014, Indian and Himalayan Sculpture, John Siudmak at Boerner Gallery, 23 East 73rd Street, New York, New York.

Publication Information

Indian and Himalayan Sculpture, John Siudmak, sale catalogue, 2014, pp. 12–13.

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 was acquired in London in the 1970s and remained in the Collection of Simon Digby until its acquisition by the Metropolitan Museum. Simon Digby, who was born in India to English parents, was a former curator of the Ashmolean Museum and later an independent scholar. This Head of Shiva comes from a region in what is today northern Pakistan. The work is likely associated with the Brahmanical mountain complex known as Kashmir Smast, active in the 6th–early 7th century. The iconography represented by works from this site has been of seminal importance in building scholars’ understanding of the evolution of Brahmanical imagery in north-western India generally. Though small in scale, this work nonetheless represents an important early stage in stylistic development which is otherwise unrepresented in the Museum’s holdings, thus allowing a greater understanding of early Saiva imagery from the northwestern region of the subcontinent.

Provenance Information

n.d.-1973 collection of unidentified collector, Swat District, Pakistan; 1973-2013 collection of Henry and Mary Louise Church, Ovid, NY (purchased from unidentified collector, Swat District, Pakistan); 2013 collection of Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (gift of Henry and Mary Louise Church)

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

Provenance for this object is established to 1973 when it was purchased directly by the donor, as per correspondence and documentation on file.