Maitreya, the Future Buddha

Object Details

• Provenance

  By 1940s-?

  Irania Korvin, method of acquisition unknown [1]

  ?-1980s

  Daughter of Irania Korvin, probably by gift or by descent [2]

  1980s

  Philip Rudko, purchased from the daughter of Irania Korvin [3]

  1980s-2011

  Alice S. Kandell, purchased from Philip Rudko [4]

  From 2011

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Alice S. Kandell [5]

  Notes:

  [1] See acquisition justification titled, “Shakyamuni Buddha in a Full Shrine, Offered as a gift from Alice S. Kandell to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of Art,” 2011, copy in object file. The acquisition justification states, “The Maitreya was brought to the United States from Shanghai in the late 1940s by a Russian opera singer, Irania Korvin. Korvin had the sculpture in Shanghai during the 1940s, where she was stranded during the second world war. In the early 1970s, when Korvin was living in Queens, New York, she met Phil Rudko. Korvin’s daughter eventually sold the Maitreya (and a standing drum) to Phil Rudko in the 1980s.”

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] See note 1. Philip Rudko, born just outside New York City in northern New Jersey, is a Russian Orthodox priest and art conservator, specializing in Tibetan objects. He works with the collector Alice Kandell as the curator of her personal collection.

  [4] See note 1. Alice S. Kandell is a private collector, who for decades acquired hundreds of bronze sculptures, thangkas, textile banners, painted furniture and ritual implements. Her interest in Tibetan art and culture began during her college years, when she took the first of many trips to Sikkim, Tibet and Ladakh. Throughout her career as a child psychologist in New York, she continued to pursue her love of Tibetan Buddhist sacred art, traveling, collecting and documenting the art and culture of the region in two books of photography, “Sikkim: The Hidden Kingdom” (Doubleday) and “Mountaintop Kingdom: Sikkim” (Norton).

  [5] See Deed of Gift, dated March 18, 2011, copy in object file.

  Research Completed December 8, 2022

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Exhibition History

  The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room (March 12, 2022 - ongoing)

  Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice Across Asia (October 14, 2017 to February 6, 2022)

  Doorway to an Enlightened World: The Tibetan Shrine from the Alice S. Kandell Collection (March 19 to November 27, 2016)

  The Tibetan Shrine from the Alice S. Kandell Collection (March 13, 2010 to November 27, 2016)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Irania Korvin (b. possibly 1881-1890)

  Phillip J. Rudko

  Alice S. Kandell

• Origin

  probably Dolonnor, Mongolia

• Credit Line

  The Alice S. Kandell Collection

• Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Sackler Gallery 26a: The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1790s, 1750s

• Name

  Kandell, Alice S., buddha, Korvin, Irania, Rudko, Phillip J.

• Place

  Mongolia, Dolonnor

• Topic

  Gilding, South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Inlay (process), Sculpture, Maitreya Buddha, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Alice S. Kandell Collection, Metal-work

• Culture

  Buddhists, Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Yes