Object Details
Provenance
1. (Debra Diamond, December 2, 2015)
Philip Rudko acquired the ritual implements from Sange Tenzing (d. late 1980s or early 1990s) whom Rudko met in New York City in the 1980s.
Rudko later sold the objects to Alice S. Kandell.
The Smithsonian Under Secretary for History, Art and Culture, Richard Kurin, wrote in 2014 that there was no Smithsonian objection towards acquiring the Chöd implements with bones. The decision took the following into account: Tibetan Buddhists have very elaborate classifications of relics because they have enormous cultural and spiritual value.
Bodily relics of Buddha, bodhisattvas, and great teachers include bone fragments that remain after cremation.
The bones that are made into ritual implements do not come from Buddhist teachers and are not considered relics.
Tibetan Buddhists have made no objections to museums acquiring ritual implements of any sort, including those made from human bones. Unlike the ancestor bones that feature in other repatriation suits, these objects have always been considered tools, never revered ancestors.
The Dalai Lama blessed the acquisition of the Kandell Collection by the Sackler Gallery in 2011; it is more than likely that he was aware of human bone objects in the collection because he wrote the foreword to the Kandell catalogue. Moreover, the Chöd objects were exhibited, without objection from the Tibetan Buddhist community, in "The Tibetan Shrine Room from the Alice Kandell Collection," Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, March 13-July 18, 2010 and The Rubin Museum of Art, New York City, October 6, 2010 – April 1, 2013.
Tibetan Chöd texts recommend several ritually effectual sources for thighbone trumpets (such as the right legs of young, naturally deceased Brahmin males).
For the last several decades, China has provided the thighbones for Chöd rituals. When Tibetan Buddhist learned that the bones came from deceased convicts (and were therefore a serious impediment to attaining enlightenment), they became seriously alarmed and some schools now recommend the use of wooden trumpets.
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
Tenzing Sangye (died late 1980s or early 1990s)
Phillip J. Rudko
Alice S. Kandell
Credit Line
The Alice S. Kandell Collection
Date
19th century
Accession Number
S2015.28.12.1
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Musical Instrument
Medium
Human bone (femur), leather, pigments; silver with coral and turquoise insets, and silk
Dimensions
H x W x D: 32.5 × 7.3 × 6.5 cm (12 13/16 × 2 7/8 × 2 9/16 in)
Origin
Central or Eastern Tibet
On View
East Building (Arthur M. Sackler Gallery), Gallery 26a: The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room
See more items in
National Museum of Asian Art
Data Source
National Museum of Asian Art
Topic
bone
Buddhism
tantra
Tibet
South Asian and Himalayan Art
Alice S. Kandell Collection
Link to Original Record
Record ID
fsg_S2015.28.12.1