Wheel of Life

Detail of a pattern
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At A Glance

  • Period

    late 19th century
  • Geography

    Tibet
  • Material

    Opaque watercolor on cotton
  • Dimension

    H x W (Overall, including rod): 141 × 95.9 cm (55 1/2 × 37 3/4 in)
  • Accession Number

    S2020.5.18
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_S2020.5.18

Object Details

  • Provenance

    ? To 1980s
    Yangki P. Ackerman, Southern California, method of acquisition unknown [1]
    1980s to mid-1990s
    Philip Rudko, purchased from Yangki P. Ackerman in New York, NY [2]
    From mid-1990s to 2020
    Alice Kandell, purchased from Philip Rudko in the mid-1990s in New York, NY [3]
    From 2020
    Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Alice Kandell, New York, NY [4]
    Notes:
    [1] According to Philip Rudko, interviewed by Joanna M. Gohmann on November 6, 2020, notes in accession file.
    [2] See interview referenced in 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.
    [3] See interview referenced in note 1. Alice 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).
    [4] The object was formally accessioned into the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection on December 18, 2020. See Acquisition Consideration Form, object file.
  • Collection

    Arthur M. Sackler Collection
  • Exhibition History

    Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice Across Asia (October 14, 2017 to February 6, 2022)
  • Previous custodian or owner

    Alice S. Kandell
    Philip J. Rudko
    Yangki P. Ackerman
  • Origin

    Tibet
  • Credit Line

    The Alice S. Kandell Collection
  • Type

    Painting
  • Restrictions and Rights

    Usage Conditions Apply

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