Purchased by Mr. James W. Alsdorf, Chicago, Illinois U.S.A. The exact date that Mr. Alsdorf purchased this object is unknown; however, Mr. Alsdorf acquired the object before his death on April 24, 1990. Attempts to determine from whom Mr. Alsdorf acquired the object 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 again in 2010, and donated the object to the Art Institute 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). “In the Footsteps of Buddha” - Hong Kong, China, University Art Gallery (September 25–December 15, 1998). 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.

Rajeshwari Ghose, In the Footsteps of the Buddha: An Iconic Journey from India to China, (The University of Hong Kong, 1998) pl. 6. 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. 95: 109 and plate p. 296. Jerome M. Eisenberg, Indian and South-East Asian Art from the Alsdorf collection, (Minerva, 1997), vol. 8, no. 5, pp. 15-18.

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. The exact date that Mr. Alsdorf purchased this object is unknown, but Mr. Alsdorf acquired the object before his death in 1990. Attempts to determine from whom Mr. Alsdorf acquired the object were unsuccessful. This object has been included in exhibitions both in the United States and in Hong Kong, China. It has been exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago since December 2008 and published various times, including in two catalogues of South Asian art: A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art (1997) and In the Footsteps of the Buddha: An Iconic Journey from India to China (1998). In addition, the acquisition furthers the representation of the artistic achievements of all civilizations in art museums because it is a remarkable representation of the emaciated Buddha head from the ancient Gandhara culture that flourished in present day Pakistan. 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.