Spirit house figure of a turtle

Object Details

• Provenance

  From 1967 to 2005

  Sarah M. and Konrad Bekker, purchased in Ayutthaya in 1967 [1]

  From 2005

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, given by Sarah M. Bekker, Arlington, VA, in 2005

  Notes:

  [1] The donor, Dr. Sarah Bekker, is a respected scholar of Southeast Asian art. With her husband, Konrad Bekker, an Economics Officer with the U.S. Department of State, she lived in India, Burma, and Thailand, where the Bekkers pursued a shared deep interest in the arts. The objects in their gift were acquired in Thailand between 1964 and 1971; this object was purchased in Ayutthaya

  in August 1967.

  In 1964 Dr. Bekker received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from George Washington University, on a topic relating to Burmese concepts of duty, obligation, and "face." She has lectured and written widely, especially on Burma, and for several years she led study tours to Mainland Southeast Asia for the Smithsonian Associates. The Bekkers' collection of Burmese art forms the core of the Burmese art collection at the Center for Burma Studies, Northern Illinois University, and other gifts reside in the art museum at Denison University and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Lender's number: 664. See Louise A. Cort, Acquisition Consideration form justification, April 21, 2005.

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Taking Shape: Ceramics in Southeast Asia (April 1, 2007 to December 4, 2011)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Sarah M. Bekker (1923-2013)

  Konrad Bekker (1911-1981)

• Origin

  Chao Phraya River network, Central Thailand

  Klong Sra Bua kilns, Ayutthaya, Central Thailand

• Credit Line

  Gift of Sarah M. Bekker

• Type

  Sculpture

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1600s, 1790s

• Name

  Bekker, Konrad, Bekker, Sarah M.

• Place

  Ayutthaya, Klong Sra Bua kilns, Thailand

• Topic

  Unglazed, Art, Ayutthaya period (1351 - 1767), Turtles, Pottery, Southeast Asian Art, Bangkok period (1782 - 1932 ), Ceramics

• Culture

  Southeast Asians

• Object Type

  Sculpture