Spirit house figure of an elephant

Probably from 1967-1970 to 2005

Sarah M. and Konrad Bekker, probably purchased in Ayutthaya in 1967-1970 [1]

From 2005

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, given by Sarah M. Bekker, Arlington, VA, in 2005

Notes:

[1] The donor, Dr. Sarah Bekker, is a respected scholar of Southeast Asian art. With her husband, Konrad Bekker, an Economics Officer with the U.S. Department of State, she lived in India, Burma, and Thailand, where the Bekkers pursued a shared deep interest in the arts. The objects in their gift were acquired in Thailand between 1964 and 1971; this object was probably purchased in Ayutthaya between 1966 and 1970. In 1964 Dr. Bekker received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from George Washington University, on a topic relating to Burmese concepts of duty, obligation, and "face." She has lectured and written widely, especially on Burma, and for several years she led study tours to Mainland Southeast Asia for the Smithsonian Associates. The Bekkers' collection of Burmese art forms the core of the Burmese art collection at the Center for Burma Studies, Northern Illinois University, and other gifts reside in the art museum at Denison University and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. See Louise A. Cort, Acquisition Consideration form justification, April 21, 2005.

National Museum of Asian Art Collection

Taking Shape: Ceramics in Southeast Asia (April 1, 2007 to December 4, 2011)

Sarah M. Bekker (1923-2013)

Konrad Bekker (1911-1981)