Tripod Vessel with Carved Motifs

by 1929 - still in 1934
Edward W. Payne (1857-1932), Springfield, IL, USA; Estate of Edward W. Payne [1]

by 1935 -
First National Bank, Springfield, IL, acquired from Estate of Edward W. Payne [2]

by 1943 -
Brummer Gallery, Inc., New York, NY [3]

by 1952 - 1972
Albert Gallatin (1881-1952), New York, NY; Estate of Albert Gallatin [4]

1972/02/05
In auction of "Pre-Columbian Art including Mexico, Central and South America" at Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, February 5, 1972, lot no. 71 [5]

1972 - 1979
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO [6]

1979 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [7]


Notes:
One of the main sources for this provenance comes from Gordon Hart's annotated reprint of the 1937 catalogue of the Edward W. Payne collection [Hart, Gordon, ed. "Photographs of Interesting and Outstanding Specimens of Indian Relics From the Edward W. Payne Stone Age Collection." Bluffton, IN: Hart Publishers, 2002; originally published in Springfield, IL: Williamson Printing and Publishing Company, 1937].

[1] According to Hart's 2002 publication, collector Edward W. Payne commissioned photographs of some of his favorite objects in 1929 with the intent of having them published [ed. Hart, 2002, p.iii]. These images, one of which features 213:1979, were included in the 1937 publication [ed. Hart, 2002, p.120]. An article dated July 12, 1934 in the Illinois State Journal identified "the Springfield Marine bank, [as the] receiver for the Payne estate." [ed. Hart, 2002, p.5]

[2] An article dated April 1, 1935 in Time magazine describes how the "Marine Bank [of Springfield, IL] and another Springfield bank obtained liens against his [Edward Payne's] estate. Chief asset was...the Payne Stone Age Collection..." An article dated August 15, 1935 in the Illinois State Register states "[o]fficials of the First National Bank, which acquired the collection from the Payne estate..." The two day sale started on August 15, 1935 [ed. Hart, 2002, p.8-9].

[3] Brummer Gallery, Inc. is listed as the owner of this vase in a 1943 publication [Keleman, Pál. "Medieval American Art," New York: The Macmillan Company, 1943, plate 94a].

[4] This vase is listed as "Property from the Estate of the Late Albert Gallatin, New York City" in the Parke-Bernet auction catalogue "Pre-Columbian Art including Mexico, Central and South America" dated February 5, 1972, lot no. 71.

[5] See note [4].

[6] A loan agreement form documents that Morton D. May lent 213:1979 to the Saint Louis Art Museum beginning March 27, 1972 [SLAM Archives, Registrar's Office, Morton D. May Files].

[7] A letter dated July 5, 1979 from Morton D. May to James N. Wood, director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, includes the offer of this object as part of a larger donation [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, October 10, 1979.