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 by 1983 when he placed it on long-term loan at the Art Institute of Chicago. Attempts to determine from whom Mr. Alsdorf 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 of Chicago 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, from March 2003 to October 2003.

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. 299: cat. 121 and plate p. 101.

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 judgment to acquire the object. The exact date that Mr. Alsdorf purchased this object is unknown; however, Mr. Alsdorf acquired the object by 1983 when he placed it on long-term loan at the Art Institute of Chicago. Attempts to determine from whom Mr. Alsdorf acquired the object were unsuccessful. The object has been exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2003 and 1997 and published 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 it represents the head of Buddha Shakyamuni from the Mon-Dvaravati culture that flourished in ancient Thailand and reveals the cultural interaction between India and Thailand in antiquity. Second, the acquisition of the object was by gift and 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.