Purchased by Mr. James W. Alsdorf, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. The exact date that Mr. Alsdorf purchased this object is unknown. Mr. Alsdorf acquired the object before his death in 1990 and possibly earlier in 1952 from Ephron Gallery, New York, although attempts to determine this conclusively were unsuccessful. Mrs. James W. Alsdorf publicly promised the object to the Art Institute of Chicago in 1997, signed a promised gift agreement for the object in 2002, and gave the object to the Art Institute of Chicago in 2015.

"A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection" – The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (August 2 – October 26, 1997). “Eternal Presence: Handprints and Footprints in Buddhist Art” New York, N.Y., Katonah Museum of Art (October 17, 2004 - January 9, 2005). The object has been displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, in the Alsdorf Galleries of Indian, Southeast Asian, Himalayan and Islamic Art, from September 2008 to the present.

Pratapaditya Pal with contributions by Stephen Little, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art (The Art Institute of Chicago in association with Thames and Hudson, New York, 1997) p. 92: 107 and plate p. 295. John Siudmak, “Gandharan and Western Himalayan Sculpture in the Alsdorf Collection” Orientations, 28, 7 (1997) pp. 42-50. Kathryn H. Selig Brown, Eternal Presence: Handprints and Footprints in Buddhist Art (Katonah Museum of Art, 2005). Milo C. Beach, "The Ear Commands the Story: Exploration and Imagination on the Silk Road" in The Silk Road and Beyond: Travel, Trade, and Transformation (The Art Institute of Chicago, 2007), p. 11, fig. 2.

Cumulative facts and figures

Also: Gift or bequest expected or on loan prior to 2008. This acquisition falls within two exceptions. 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. This object was acquired by Mr. Alsdorf sometime before his death in 1990 and possibly earlier in 1952 from Ephron Gallery, New York. This object has been exhibited in New York as well as at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1997 and since December 2008. It has been published multiple times, including in three catalogues of South Asian art: A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art (1997); Eternal Presence: Handprints and Footprints in Buddhist Art (2005), and The Silk Road and Beyond: Travel, Trade, and Transformation (2007). In addition, the acquisition furthers the representation of the artistic achievements of all civilizations in art museums because it is a remarkable Gandharan relief narrative revealing Greco–Roman influence depicting the Buddha Shakyamuni meditating with the Buddha Dipankara below, from the Kushan period which flourished in present day Pakistan during the 2nd/3rd century AD. It will be one of the very few such relief narratives in the collection. Second, the acquisition of the object was by gift and the object was promised to the Art Institute prior to 2008. Mrs Alsdorf publicly promised the object to the Art Institute of Chicago in 1997 and thereafter signed a promised gift agreement for the object in 2002.