Mandala offering vessel

Historical period(s)
early 20th century
Medium
Silver with gilding
Dimensions
H x Diam: 25.4 × 21 cm (10 × 8 1/4 in)
Geography
Tibet
Credit Line
The Alice S. Kandell Collection
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S2020.5.23
On View Location
Sackler Gallery 26a: The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Vessel
Type

Vessel

Keywords
Alice S. Kandell Collection, Buddhism, Tibet
Provenance

Late 1980s or Early 1990s
Philip Rudko, method of acquisition unknown [1]

From Late 1980s or Early 1990s to 2020
Alice Kandell, purchase from Philip Rudko in New York, NY [2]

From 2020
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Alice Kandell, New York, NY [3]

Notes:

[1] According to Philip Rudko, interviewed by Joanna M. Gohmann on November 6, 2020, notes in accession file. Rudko could not recall from whom he purchased the object.
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.

[2] See interview referenced in note 1. Rudko recalls that he purchased the object and immediately sold to Kandell. 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).

[3] The object was formally accessioned into the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection on December 18, 2020. See Acquisition Consideration Form, object file.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Philip J. Rudko
Alice S. Kandell

Collection Area(s)
South Asian and Himalayan Art
SI Usage Statement

Usage Conditions Apply

There are restrictions for re-using this image. 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 Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery welcome information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.