Head of the Buddha
date: label: Date
content: 8th century
label: Period
content: Shailendra period
notes: label: Description
content: Buddha head. Dark gray volcanic stone. Hair evenly incised over a pronounced ushnisha, is arranged in clearly defined individual locks which curl to the right. The urna is a subtle circle in the middle of the forehead, and the earlobes are elongated. Facial details, such as the eyes, nose, and mouth are simply articulated.
label: Label
content: The work of a sculptor of consumate skill, this exquisitely modeled head evokes the Buddha's gentle omniscience. Buddhist texts describe thirty-two signs of the Buddha's superhuman perfection; two of these are visible here. The curl of hair (urna) resting between the Buddha's eyes symbolizes his renunciation, and the protuberance upon his head (ushnisha) signifies spiritual attainment. The head once belonged to a full-length Buddha that graced a Buddhist sanctuary in Central Java.
label: Provenance
content: From at least 1939
label: Provenance
content: Art Gallery A. Vecht, Amsterdam [1]
label: Provenance
content: 1946
label: Provenance
content: Kelman Joseph Ptasnik (1890-1966), New York, from at least May 1946 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1946 to 1951
label: Provenance
content: Eduard von der Heydt (1882-1964), Ascona, Switzerland, purchased from K. J. Ptasnik in May 1946 and lent to the Buffalo Museum of Science, Buffalo, New York [3]
label: Provenance
content: 1951
label: Provenance
content: US Government vested Eduard von der Heydt's property under the provisions of "Trading with the Enemy Act" by vesting order, dated August 21, 1951 [4]
label: Provenance
content: From 1964 to 1973
label: Provenance
content: National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, from March 1964 [5]
label: Provenance
content: From 1973
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, transferred from National Museum of Natural History in 1973 [6]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See Sculpture of India: Eliza Buffington Memorial Exhibition, exh. cat. (Poughkeepsie: Vassar College Art Gallery, April 12-May 12, 1939), cat. 25, pl. 5.
label: Provenance
content: The lender of the sculpture is identified in the catalogue as A. Vecht.
label: Provenance
content: Aaron Vecht (1886-1965) was the owner of Art Gallery A. Vecht in Amsterdam.
label: Provenance
content: Around 1939 Vecht sent a portion of his gallery's stock to London and New York where his brother in law, Kelman Joseph Ptasnik was responsible for organizing storage for sent objects [information kindly provided by Constant Vecht, Aaron Vecht's grandson and director of Kunstzalen A. Vecht, in email correspondence of January 27, 2009, in object file]
label: Provenance
content: [2] See "Catalogue of the Von der Heydt Loan to the Buffalo Museum of Science: Loan Material from Baron Von der Heydt, as of March 1949," where the sculpture is documented together with F1978.35 under an inventory card no. 4670, copy in object file.
label: Provenance
content: According to information on the inventory card, Eduard von der Heydt purchased the two sculptures from K. J. Ptasnik in May 1946.
label: Provenance
content: Aaron Vecht was one of von der Heydt's main dealers and in 1946 Ptasnik either acted on behalf of his brother in law or had obtained the sculpture from him.
label: Provenance
content: [3] See "Catalogue of the Von der Heydt Loan to the Buffalo Museum of Science" cited in note 2.
label: Provenance
content: [4] See Vesting Order No. 18344, August 21, 1951, Office of Alien Property, Department of Justice.
label: Provenance
content: Eduard von der Heydt exhausted all the legal remedies against the forfeiture of his property provided to him by the Trading with the Enemy Act.
label: Provenance
content: [5] Attorney General, Robert Kennedy authorized transfer of the von der Heydt collection from Buffalo Museum of Science to the custody of the Smithsonian Institution in March 1964. The collection was transferred to the National Museum of Natural History.
label: Provenance
content: In 1966 US Congress legislated transferring the title of the von der Heydt collection to the Smithsonian Institution, see Public Law 89-503, 80 Stat. 287, July 18, 1966. The sculpture was accessioned under no. 448108, see "Smithsonian Office of Anthropology Accession Data," copy in object file.
label: Provenance
content: [6] The sculpture was among 13 objects in the von der Heydt collection transferred from National Museum of Natural History to the Freer Gallery of Art, see "Smithsonian Institution Intramural Transfer of Specimens" memorandum, dated January 29, 1973, copy in object file.
label: Provenance
content: The sculpture was accessioned to the Freer Gallery Study Collection under no. FSC-S-16.
label: Collection
content: Freer Study Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Office of the Secretary, Smithsonian Institution, 2001 (May 17 to September 20, 2001)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, 1979-1980 (September 26, 1979 to January 11, 1980)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Baron Eduard von der Heydt (1882-1964)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: National Museum of Natural History, Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution
place: label: Origin
content: Borobudur, Indonesia
topic: label: Topic
content: stone
label: Topic
content: Buddhism
label: Topic
content: Buddha
label: Topic
content: Shailendra period (ca. 750 - ca. 850)
label: Topic
content: ushnisha
label: Topic
content: urna
label: Topic
content: Indonesia
label: Topic
content: Southeast Asian Art
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Transfer from the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: FSC-S-16a-b
objectType: label: Type
content: Sculpture
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Volcanic stone (andesite)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 38.1 x 23.5 x 24.1 cm (15 x 9 1/4 x 9 1/2 in)