Provenance Information

November 8, 1975, sold by the Galerie Uraeus, Paris, to Antoine (or Anton) Groth, Zurich; by descent within the family; April 15, 2015, consigned anonymously by a member of the Groth family, Christie’s, London (sale 10372), lot 160, to Walter Gilbert, Cambridge, MA; 2017, sold by Walter Gilbert to the MFA. (Accession Date: March 1, 2017)

Exhibition Information

None known.

Publication Information

None known.

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

These clappers were on the European market in 1975 (if not earlier), several years before Egypt’s law no. 117 went into effect in 1983. Although they cannot be traced all the way to 1970, clappers are common and relatively minor objects, making them difficult to trace. Further information from the Galerie Uraeus is not available.

Provenance Information

c. 1961/before c. 1975 – 2008 collection of Thomas Carroll (b. 1919), Chevy Chase, MD (acquired in Latin America while stationed with the Food and Agriculture Organization, UN (1958-1961) or while working on assignment with the Inter-American Development Bank (1961-1984)); 2008 collection of Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca (gift of Thomas Carroll)

Exhibition Information

Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, A New World: Pre-Columbian Art from the Carroll Collection, March 29 – June 15, 2008

Publication Information

Scott, John F. and Laura Johnson-Kelly. A New World: Pre-Columbian Art from the Carroll Collection [an exh. cat.]. (Ithaca: Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, 2008); ref. p. 84, color illus. p. 84, cat. no. 116.

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 donor pledged part of his collection, including this object, to the museum prior to 2008, as per correspondence between the donor and the museum dated 2005, on file. The object was acquired by the donor between the 1960s and early 1970s, while stationed in or on assignment to Latin America.

Provenance Information

Peter and Paula Lunder
Thomas Colville Fine Art, New Haven, CT
Elegant House-Chinese Curios
Hong Kong

Exhibition Information

Spaces & Places: Chinese Art from the Lunder-Colville Collection and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Colby College Museum of Art
Waterville, ME July 13, 2013 - June 8, 2014

Regional Culture of the Bronze Age from Hunan, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, ME September 1, 2011-January 8, 2012

Art at Colby: Celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Colby College Museum of Art, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine July 11, 2009-February 21, 2010

Publication Information

The Lunder Collection: A Gift of Art to Colby College, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville Maine. 2013, p. 44.

Art at Colby, Celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Colby College Museum of Art, 2010.
Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, illustrated pp. 22-23

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 donors pledged part of the their collection, including this object, to the museum prior to 2008, as per correspondence dated April 11, 2007, on file.

Provenance Information

1990’s, private collection Dr. Georges Goreux, Mons, Belgium, acquired through exchange; 2008, private collection Mr. Gaston Montigny, Jemeppe, Belgium; February 2012, dealer Jacques Billen, Brussels, Belgium, who sold it to the MIA. (Accession Date: December 18, 2012)

Exhibition Information

No exhibition history.

Publication Information

Jacques Billen, ed. (2013)
Harmakhis 25 Years
Brussels: Harmakhis Gallery
The MIA clappers appear on the cover and on pp. 34-35.

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 has provenance established to the 1960s in Belgium, but the Minneapolis Institute of Arts has been unable to substantiate the precise date of acquisition or obtain documentary confirmation of the provenance prior to 1990. This elegant and beautiful work is an important addition to the small but good collection of Ancient Egyptian art, and also to the growing collection of musical instruments created on the African continent.

Provenance Information

Before mid-1980s, M. San Marco, Houston, Texas; by mid-1980s, sold by San Marco to Israel Pachenko, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; before 2007, sold by Pachenko to Arte Xibalba, Osprey, Florida; 2007, sold by Arte Xibalba to Douglas Deihl, Northampton, Massachusetts; 2010, gift of Deihl to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 22, 2010)

Exhibition Information

None known.

Publication Information

None known.

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

Objects of this sort, i.e., small bone artifacts, are relatively common when considering the scope of Chimú cultural material. Its small size, inexpensive materials and relatively low historical value make the flute's provenance difficult to trace.

Provenance Information

Before 1978, father of Joseph Espinoza, Brazil; 1978, by descent to his son, Joseph Espinoza, Toronto, Canada; between 2004 and 2007, sold by Espinoza to Arte Xibalba, Osprey, Florida; 2007, sold by Arte Xibalba to Douglas Deihl, Northampton, Massachusetts; 2010, gift of Deihl to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 22, 2010)

Exhibition Information

None known.

Publication Information

None known.

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

It is likely, but not documented, that Espinoza's father acquired this in Brazil in the 1950s or 1960s, when he built up his collection.

Provenance Information

Before 1978, father of Joseph Espinoza, Brazil; 1978, by descent to his son, Joseph Espinoza, Toronto, Canada; between 2004 and 2007, sold by Espinoza to Arte Xibalba, Osprey, Florida; 2007, sold by Arte Xibalba to Douglas Deihl, Northampton, Massachusetts; 2010, gift of Deihl to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 22, 2010)

Exhibition Information

None known.

Publication Information

None known.

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

It is likely, but not documented, that Espinoza's father acquired this in Brazil around the 1950s or 1960s, when he built up his collection.

Provenance Information

1999, J. Osario, Canada; 1999, sold by Osario to Lands Beyond Gallery, New York; sold by Lands Beyond to Hy and Shirley Zaret, Westport, CT; 2008, gift of Shirley Zaret to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 25, 2008)

Exhibition Information

None known.

Publication Information

None known.

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 Taino whistle comes from Puerto Rico, a commonwealth territory of the United States.

Provenance Information

In the collection of Mary C. Lanius of Denver, Colorado, since the 1970's.

Exhibition Information

None known prior to DAM acquisition.

Publication Information

None known prior to DAM acquisition.

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

Looting of archaeological sites in western Mexico was already under way in the late 19th century, and continued throughout the first half of the 20th century. West Mexican ceramic figures and figurines were widely collected from the 1940's through the 1970's. This whistle figurine expands the range of form and subject matter that can be displayed by the Denver Art Museum. Its acquisition by a public institution facilitates public appreciation of Mexico's pre-Columbian heritage, and makes this object accessible to scholars.

Provenance Information

Purchased from Museo Arqueologico's Galeria de Arte, Quito, Ecuador, by Frederick Pough, Solvang, CA; gift of his family to the Gallery in 2011

Exhibition Information

None known.

Publication Information

None known.

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

The donor's family provided the following: a letter from the donor to a dealer that describes his overall collection as having been accumulated in the 1930s and the 1960s with some specific descriptions of objects; a 1968 auction inventory list and dated purchase invoice.