Manuscripts, translations, correspondence, notes, maps, drawings, and black and white photographic prints and negatives related to James Marshall Plumer's work with Chinese ceramics, primarily concerning the location and excavation of a Yue ware kiln site.
Yüeh (sometimes Yueh) was the common romanization at the time of creation and is used extensively in this finding aid to reflect its usage in the original materials. Yue is preferred now. All other obsolete romanizations reflect usage in the original materials.
Arrangement:
Organized into two series:
Series 1: Yüeh File
Series 2: Photographs
Biographical / Historical:
James Marshall Plumer (1899-1960) , scholar of Asian art. After receiving his B.A. from Harvard, Plumer served as an administrative officer with the Chinese Government Service in Maritime Customs. From 1935 until his death, he taught art history at the University of Michigan while continuing to visit and work in China and Japan. In 1935 and 1937, Plumer discovered ancient kiln sites in the Chinese provinces of Fukien (Fujian) and Chekiang (Zhejiang). He wrote extensively on Chinese ceramics and edited the 'Far Eastern Ceramic Bulletin' from 1950 to 1958.
Related Materials:
James M. Plumer papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the National Museum of Asian Art's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
James Marshall Plumer Collection, FSA.A.14. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Caroline I. Plumer.
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Collection Citation:
Pauline B. and Myron S. Falk, Jr. Papers, FSA.A2002.03. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the Falk family.
Sponsor:
Processed in 2022 with funding from the Smithsonian Institution's American Women's History Initiative.
Files related to James Marshall Plumer's work with Yue ware ceramics, including the location of the kiln site. Contains Plumer's manuscripts and draft report, translations of Japanese and German articles by others on Yue ware, correspondence, notes, maps, and drawings of Yue ware pieces, including by Plumer's students.
Arrangement:
Arranged alphabetically by title.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the National Museum of Asian Art's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Collection Citation:
James Marshall Plumer Collection, FSA.A.14. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Caroline I. Plumer.
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the National Museum of Asian Art's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Collection Citation:
James Marshall Plumer Collection, FSA.A.14. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Caroline I. Plumer.
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the National Museum of Asian Art's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Collection Citation:
James Marshall Plumer Collection, FSA.A.14. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Caroline I. Plumer.
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the National Museum of Asian Art's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Collection Citation:
James Marshall Plumer Collection, FSA.A.14. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Caroline I. Plumer.
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the National Museum of Asian Art's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Collection Citation:
James Marshall Plumer Collection, FSA.A.14. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Caroline I. Plumer.
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the National Museum of Asian Art's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Collection Citation:
James Marshall Plumer Collection, FSA.A.14. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Caroline I. Plumer.
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the National Museum of Asian Art's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Collection Citation:
James Marshall Plumer Collection, FSA.A.14. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Caroline I. Plumer.
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the National Museum of Asian Art's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Collection Citation:
James Marshall Plumer Collection, FSA.A.14. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Caroline I. Plumer.
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the National Museum of Asian Art's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Collection Citation:
James Marshall Plumer Collection, FSA.A.14. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Caroline I. Plumer.
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the National Museum of Asian Art's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Collection Citation:
James Marshall Plumer Collection, FSA.A.14. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Caroline I. Plumer.
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the National Museum of Asian Art's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Collection Citation:
James Marshall Plumer Collection, FSA.A.14. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Caroline I. Plumer.
Photographs (which include silver gelatin photonegatives and photoprints) document Chinese ceramics, primarily Yue ware, and kiln sites in Fukien (Fujian) and Chekiang (Zhejiang) provinces, dating from ninth and tenth centuries, which were discovered by Plumer. Many of the images depict ceramics in private collections and in the laboratory settings. Most of the items are "wasters", imperfect ceramic objects that were broken at the kiln site at the time of manufacture. They include bowls, candlesticks, jars, tea cups, and vases. Other photographs show archaeological field workers, including Plumer and local staff, field work activities, kilns, and the landscape surrounding the kilns.
Photographers and studios represented include the Fogg Art Museum of Harvard University, Charles B. Hoyt, Herbert Ingram, C.T. Loo, the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), and James Marshall Plumer. Some photographs from this collection have been previously published or used in exhibitions.
Arrangement:
Organized into two sub-series:
Sub-series 2.1: Prints
Sub-series 2.2: Negatives
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the National Museum of Asian Art's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Collection Citation:
James Marshall Plumer Collection, FSA.A.14. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Caroline I. Plumer.
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the National Museum of Asian Art's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Collection Citation:
James Marshall Plumer Collection, FSA.A.14. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Caroline I. Plumer.
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the National Museum of Asian Art's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Collection Citation:
James Marshall Plumer Collection, FSA.A.14. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Caroline I. Plumer.
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the National Museum of Asian Art's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Collection Citation:
James Marshall Plumer Collection, FSA.A.14. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Caroline I. Plumer.
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the National Museum of Asian Art's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Collection Citation:
James Marshall Plumer Collection, FSA.A.14. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Caroline I. Plumer.
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the National Museum of Asian Art's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Collection Citation:
James Marshall Plumer Collection, FSA.A.14. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Caroline I. Plumer.
