Provenance Information

Robert Sonin, New York, New York before 1970; by inheritance to an American private collector in 2012

Exhibition Information

none

Publication Information

none

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

Informed judgement that works were outside of the country of modern discovery before 1970

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

Explanation: The collector, Robert Sonin, died in 2011. Prior to his death, Mr. Sonin told at least two individuals—including the immediate past owner of the vessel, who received the work by inheritance from Mr. Sonin in 2012—that he assembled his collection of Andean antiquities in the 1950s and 1960s during trips to Peru and did not acquire ancient Peruvian objects after 1970. One of these individuals recalls seeing the vessel in Mr. Sonin’s apartment in about 2008. A third individual saw the vessel in Mr. Sonin’s apartment in the late 1980s and again in about 2000. The museum has obtained letters about these facts and/or recollections from all three parties. The Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection of Cupisnique art works is very modest, comprising only one other exhibition-worthy vessel made of ceramic, a major Cupisnique art medium. Thus, this fine vessel allows the museum to better represent the artistic achievements of one of Peru’s earliest art-making cultures to the public. The vessel’s unusual imagery—a human pecked by birds along with mythical creatures—is an intriguing and important document of ancient thought.

Provenance Information

Nathaniel W. Hicks and Carmen Z. Hicks, late 1950s or early 1960s to 1972; Carmen Z. Hicks, 1972 to 1995; William Hicks, 1995 to 2011.

PUBLICATION HISTORY: None.

Exhibition Information

None

Publication Information

None

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

Informed judgement that works were outside of the country of modern discovery before 1970

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

In addition to the ownership history provided by the seller, the late Carmen Z. Hicks stated in a 1991 letter written in connection with a loan of the objects that her husband, the late Nathaniel W. Hicks, acquired and brought the textiles to the U.S. by 1963. This statement is consistent with the provenance of similar textiles. Where collection dates can be determined, all other Chimú white cotton garments in the same style (the so-called Pelican Style) entered public or private institutions (principally in the United States) before 1970.
The tunic is a relatively rare type and fills a significant gap in the Chimú holdings of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it will join a set of white Pelican Style garments that consists of a mantle (or hanging), a loincloth, a padded hat, a turban, and a tasseled band.