Purchased by Mr. James W. Alsdorf, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., from David Newman, London in 1980. Mr. Newman is deceased and attempts to determine when and from whom he 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 gave 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). “Art of Devotion from Gandhara” Columbia, Missouri, Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Missouri (June 8–December 10, 2000). 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 November 2008 to the present.

Pratapaditya Pal with contributions by Stephen Little, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection (The Art Institute of Chicago in association with Thames and Hudson, New York, 1997) p. 147: 192, p. 315. Isao Kurita, Gandharan Art II: The World of the Buddha (Tokyo: Takao Watanabe, 1990), fig. 622. Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago (July - September, 1981), pp. 4-7.

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 in 1980 from Mr. David Newman, London. Mr. Newman is deceased and attempts to determine when and from whom he acquired the object were unsuccessful. It has been exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1997 and since December 2008 as well as included in an exhibition in Missouri. The object has been published various times, including in a major catalogue of South Asian art, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art (1997), and in a major compendium on Gandharan art, Kurita, Gandharan Art II: The World of the Buddha (1990). In addition, the acquisition furthers the representation of the artistic achievements of all civilizations in art museums because it is a fine sculpture of a guardian figure from the Kushan period which flourished in present day Pakistan during the 2nd/3rd century AD. 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.