Purchased by Mr. James W. Alsdorf, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., from Nik Douglas, Br. West Indies in 1988. Although the invoice indicates that the object was previously in the collection of Dr. Kanusat, Bangkok, Mr. Douglas is deceased and attempts to learn more about when and from whom he acquired the object were unsuccessful. Mrs. Marilynn 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 2016.

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). 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 December 2008 to the present.

Brown, Robert L., "An Aesthetic Encounter: Khmer Art from Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam", Orientations, vol. 42, No. 3, (April 2011), pp. 50-56, p. 53, fig. 4. Eisenberg, Jerome M., "Indian and Southeast Asian Art from the Alsdorf Collection", Minerva, (September/October 1997), p. 17. Little, Stephen, "Southeast Asian Sculptures from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection." Orientations, vol. 28, No. 7, (July – August 1997), p. 57. Pal, Pratapaditya with contributions by Stephen Little, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection. Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago in association with Thames and Hudson, New York, (1997), p. 281, cat. 41, color pl. p. 42.

Cumulative facts and figures

Cumulative facts and circumstances. 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 judgement to acquire the object. This object was acquired by Mr. Alsdorf in 1988 from Mr. Nik Douglas, Br. West Indies. Although the invoice indicates that the object was previously in the collection of Dr. Kanusat, Bangkok, Mr. Douglas is deceased and attempts to learn more about 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. 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 from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection (1997). In addition, the acquisition furthers the representation of the artistic achievements of all civilizations in art museums because the sculpture is a rare early example of Hayagriva, the horse-headed incarnation of God Vishnu, from the pre-Khmer period. Second, the acquisition of the object was by gift and the object was promised to the Art Insittute 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.