John Alexander Pope (1906-1982), method of acquisition unknown probably in Cambodia [2]
From 1957
National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, gift of John Alexander Pope [3]
Notes:
[1] See inscription on the unglazed inside wall, which reads “ANGKOR [/] THOM [/] POOL.”
See also Study Collection object card, copy in object file. Object’s source is described as, “Angkor Thom, Pool [/] John A. Pope, 1957.”
See also Curatorial Remark, dated June 22, 2018, copy in object file. The Curatorial Remarks states, “Note in pencil on unglazed inside wall, probably by John A. Pope: ‘ANGKOR THOM pool.’ This must mean the artificial pond within the precincts of the Royal Palace in Angkor Thom.”
See also John Alexander Pope, Curriculum Vitae, dated April 1976. Between September 1956 and April 1957, John A. Pope traveled to Asia and England. In Southeast Asia, Pope specifically visited Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Malaya, Indonesia (Java, Sumatra, Borneo), and Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
[2] See note 1.
John Alexander Pope (1906-1982) was a renowned scholar and collector of Asian art, especially Chinese and Japanese ceramics. He spent most of his professional career at the Freer Gallery of Art, which he joined in 1943 as an Associate in Research. He later served as Assistant Director (1946 to 1962) and then as Director (1962 to 1971). After his retirement in August 1971, he continued at the Freer Gallery of Art as Director Emeritus and Research Curator for Far Eastern Ceramics. He is also known for his two pioneering studies of early Chinese blue-and-white porcelain, “Fourteenth Century Blue and White" (1952) and "Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine" (1956). Pope
also acquired many pottery sherds during his frequent travels to Asian and Europe, and many of the sherds are now part of the study collection at the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution.
[3] See note 1, Study Collection object card.
The object is part of the museum’s Freer Study Collection.
