Kulaman Burial Jars in San Francisco Museum

I have long known that two of Kulaman burial jars are in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, in California. But I could not devote a single post on them due to lack of images and adequate information. Now, though, I can. I've gathered enough materials to fill a post.

I have two closely taken images of the jars, thanks to a certain BrokenSphere who uploaded his photos in Wikimedia Commons. I'm freely using his photos here because he allows blogs, among other free-license publications, to use the materials without any fee or prior permission.

The jars in the Asian Art Museum was "originally procured" by the Richard Gervais Collection. Gervais, an American, traveled in Mindanao in the 1960s. There he discovered that "there were objects in Asia that could fetch a good price in the U.S." After buying some limestone burial jars from Kulaman Plateau, "he began a business that would become his life's passion for the next half century." Today, his collection of artifacts, religious art, and what-not is displayed in two locations and stored in a 15,000-square-foot warehouse. They came from the different parts of the world, primarily Southeast Asia.

It seems that Gervais did not directly sell or donate the two burial jars to Asian Art Museum. One travel site states that the jars are gifts from a certain Marion Greene. I've been trying to search who this philanthropist is, but Google has not given me any relevant results. The travel site also has a good description of the jars' design: "Burial urns generally come in two shapes: circular and square in section. Typically, they are adorned with simple motifs such as zigzag, diamond, and other geometric patterns. A common decoration on the lid is a three-dimensional human head and arms." I think that's a more accurate description compared to mine in my write-ups.

The size of the first jar above is 34 cm x 70 cm x 32 cm. The other's is 71 cm x 33 cm x 33 cm.