Kendi with incised and impressed decoration

Object Details

• Provenance

  Probably from 1971 to 2005

  Sarah M. and Konrad Bekker, purchased in Ayutthaya, probably in 1971 [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, probably in 1971, shortly before their return to the United States. 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 (see Louise A. Cort, Acquisition Consideration form justification, April 21, 2005).

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  Sarah M. Bekker (1923-2013)

  Konrad Bekker (1911-1981)

• Origin

  Ayutthaya, Central Thailand

• Credit Line

  Gift of Sarah M. Bekker

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1900s, 1970s

• Name

  Bekker, Konrad, Bekker, Sarah M.

• Place

  Ayutthaya, Thailand

• Topic

  Unglazed, Art, Pottery, Southeast Asian Art, Bangkok period (1782 - 1932 ), Ceramics

• Culture

  Southeast Asians

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)