Provenance Information

Acquired in Hong Kong by Kaikodo, 1990s; purchased by the San Antonio Museum of Art, 2021.

Exhibition Information

N/a

Publication Information

Published in Kaikodo Journal v (Autumn 1997), no. 68.

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 plaque was acquired by Kaikodo in Hong Kong in 1990s. The plaque was published Kaikodo Journal V (Autumn 1997), no. 68 and Orientations, September 2006. This plaque expands SAMA’s important collection of works from the Liao dynasty (907-1125).

Provenance Information

Oberingenieur Jakob Muller-Binder, Zurich, Switzerland, descended to Mr. Dennis Muller (Early 1960s to 1989); Mr. Dennis Muller, Switzerland (1989 to at least 1996); F.A.C. Kunsthandel (Wolfgang Wilhelm), Frankfurt, Germany, sold to Mrs. Barbara S. Robinson (2007); Barbara S. Robinson, Cleveland, OH (2007-2023); gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art (2023)

Exhibition Information

Long-term loan to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 2020-2023.

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

The 2007 invoice from F.A.C. Kunsthandel states that the plaque was acquired in the early 1960s, though without further details regarding place or vendor. More than 5000 plaques of this type, mostly fragmentary, are housed in the museums of Reggio Calabria and Locri in South Italy, primarily from excavations of the sanctuary of Persephone at Locri Epizephirii carried out in the early twentieth century. But numerous examples reached other museums and the art market prior to these excavations, and without evidence contrary to that stated on the 2007 invoice, an informed judgment can be made that this plaque was likely out of its country of modern discovery prior to 1970. In addition, an exception to 1970 can be made for this object because it was expected as a gift or bequest prior to 2008. This is confirmed by a letter from the attorney of Barbara S. Robinson (now in museum files) attesting to Mrs. Robinson’s intent, memorialized in estate planning documents by 2007, to donate her collection of antiquities to the Cleveland Museum of Art following her death. This plaque is the only one of its type in the CMA collection.

Provenance Information

With Sue McGovern-Huffman [Sands of Time Antiquities], Washington, DC.

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

Acquired by museum in 2006.

Provenance Information

Purchased by Joseph Cho-Yiu Law [1922-2015] and Sau Ying Loretta Law [1923-2020], Hong Kong, between late 1970s-2000; By descent, Dennis Law [b. 1947], Greenwood Village, CO; Gifted to the Denver Art Museum, 2020.

Exhibition Information

1) N/A; 2) Oct. 2021-present, Denver Art Museum 5th floor gallery; 3) N/A; 4) N/A

Publication Information

N/A

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

Acquisition of these works fills important gaps in the collection and allows the opportunity to put these objects into public domain and facilitate further research.

Provenance Information

[From Bruce and Ingrid McAlpine, London, 1976]; after 1976 until 2020, collection of Nanette B. Kelekian, New York

Exhibition Information

None.

Publication Information

None.

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 object qualifies as an exception to the 1970 rule because Nanette Kelekian signed a will prior to 2008 that documents her intent to bequeath the work to the Museum.

Provenance Information

Charles Dikran Kelekian (d. 1982), New York; by descent to Nanette Kelekian, New York (sold 1986); [Sotheby’s, New York, May 1986 (sale no. 5464), lot no. 223/7]; sold to Ma’n Z. Madina and Marilyn Jenkins-Madina, New York (1986–2018); gift from Marilyn Jenkins-Madina to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018.

Exhibition Information

None.

Publication Information

Sotheby’s, New York, May 1986 (sale no. 5464), lot no. 223/7.

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 in the collection of the dealer Charles Dikran Kelekian (active 1919-1982). This work was published in 1986 when it was sold by his daughter, Nanette Kelekian, at auction at Sotheby’s New York to Maan Z. Madina and Lyn Jenkins-Madina. The work has been in the New York collection of the Madinas for over 30 years. The Maenad is a rare late antique example of a female mythological figure on bone. An adaption of work attributed to Kallimachos (ca. 410-400 B.C.E.), this iconographical Maenad type is an important aspect of the Dioyonsiac motif in late antiquity and fits with other plaques in the Museum’s collection.

Provenance Information

-1967 collection of Farhadi & Anavian, New York;1967 collection of Arthur M. Sackler Collections, New York (purchased by Arthur M. Sackler from Farhadi & Anavian); 1967-2001 collection of Sackler Collection at Columbia University, New York (gift of Arthur M. Sackler Collections); 2001-2014 collection of The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, New York, NY (returned from Columbia University and transferred to the Sackler Foundation); 2014 collection of Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (gift of The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation)

Exhibition Information

Columbia University, New York, [Sackler Collection], included in various rotating displays between 1967 and 2001

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

Part of a larger gift from the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation that, according to correspondence and documentation on file, was acquired by Dr. Sackler from Farhadi & Anavian, New York, in 1967.

Provenance Information

-1967 collection of Farhadi & Anavian, New York;1967 collection of Arthur M. Sackler Collections, New York (purchased by Arthur M. Sackler from Farhadi & Anavian); 1967-2001 collection of Sackler Collection at Columbia University, New York (gift of Arthur M. Sackler Collections); 2001-2014 collection of The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, New York, NY (returned from Columbia University and transferred to the Sackler Foundation); 2014 collection of Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (gift of The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation)

Exhibition Information

Columbia University, New York, [Sackler Collection], included in various rotating displays between 1967 and 2001

Publication Information

Trudy S. Kawami, "Deer in Art, Life and Death in Northwestern Iran," in Iranica Antiqua XL (2005): pp. 107-131, figs. 1 & 2.

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

Part of a larger gift from the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation that, according to correspondence and documentation on file, was acquired by Dr. Sackler from Farhadi & Anavian, New York, in 1967.

Provenance Information

n.d. collection of Colonel William Mayer (b. 1892-1975), California, Washington D.C., and China; 1960 collection of Frank Caro/C.T. Loo, NYC (purchased from Colonel Mayer); 1960-1987 collection of the Arthur M. Sackler Collections (purchased by Arthur M. Sackler for the Sackler Collections from Frank Caro/C.T. Loo, NYC); 1987-1997 estate of Arthur M. Sackler; 1997 collection of Else Sackler (d. 2000), New York, NY (purchased from estate of Arthur M. Sackler); 1997-2014 collection of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, New York, NY (gift of Else Sackler); 2014 collection of Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (gift of The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation)

Exhibition Information

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, "In Praise of Ancestors," September 27, 1987 - January 5, 1989

Publication Information

Bunker, E.C., et al. Ancient Bronzes of the Eastern Eurasian Steppes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections. (New York: The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, New York, 1997); cat. no. 250a, pp. 281-2.

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

Part of a larger gift from the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation that was, according to correspondence and documentation on file, acquired by Dr. Sackler from Frank Caro/C.T. Loo in 1960. Prior to that, it was in the collection of Colonel William Mayer.

Provenance Information

by 2004 - 2008 collection of Eunice and Herbert Shatzman, Durham; 2008 Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca (gift of Eunice and Herbert Shatzman)

Exhibition Information

Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, Heavenly Earth: Early Chinese Ceramics from the Shatzman Collection, June 5 – August 22, 2004; Ackland Art Museum, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, February 6 – April 3, 2005

Publication Information

Avril, Ellen. Heavenly Earth: Early Chinese Ceramics from the Shatzman Collection [an exh. cat.] (Ithaca: Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, 2004); ref. p. 68, cat. no. 65, color illus. and detail p. 68.

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 their collection, including this object, to the museum prior to 2008, as per correspondence dated 2001, on file.