Kapala (skull bowl)

Object Details

• Provenance

  1960s-2017

  Alice S. Kandell, purchased in Sikkim, India [1]

  From 2017

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Alice S. Kandell [2]

  Notes:

  [1] According to curatorial notes from around 2009, Kandell purchased this object in Sikkim. See curatorial notes titled “AK Shrine Checklist,” undated (ca. 2009), p. 11, catalogue number VI-10 (new cat. no. VI-9), copy in object file. During the 1960s, Alice Kandell made multiple trips to Sikkim, India where she acquired objects as gifts or through purchase. See section titled “Collection AK/Sikkim - Alice Kandell, New York City” in the notes titled “Alice Kandell Exhibition (March 2010) Provenance Draft Notes,” dated July 19, 2009, p. 9, copy in object file.

  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).

  [2] See Deed of Gift, dated December 12, 2017, copy in object file.

  Research Completed December 6, 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)

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

• Previous custodian or owner

  Alice S. Kandell

• Origin

  Eastern Tibet or Mongolia

• Credit Line

  The Alice S. Kandell Collection

• Type

  Vessel

• On View

  Sackler Gallery 26a: The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room

• 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

  1800s, 1890s

• Name

  Kandell, Alice S.

• Place

  Tibet

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Alice S. Kandell Collection, Metal-work

• Culture

  Buddhists, Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)

• On View

  Yes