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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;text-align:center;
line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'>June 28, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;line-height:115%'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;line-height:115%'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'>Dear Members:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:
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alt="June 09 recital + Bbay Vita +Sullivans B&W cup 003" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_1"><![endif]><b><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'>--The June issue of the National
Geographic </span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'>magazine
has a great spread on the fabulous Belitung ship wreck sunk around 826 CE off
Sumatra, Indonesia. Its cargo of some 60,000 <span style='color:#1F497D'>Tang
dynasty </span>ceramic items was purchased by Singapore for over US$30
million. The photographs of the wares that were excavated in late 1990s
are of a high standard. The Belitung is the earliest known shipwreck on
the Maritime Silk Route that extended from the Southeast China coast through
Southeast Asia to the Middle East. That trade continued for centuries
with silk, ceramics, tea and spices being important commodities. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;line-height:115%'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'>Beginning in the 17<sup>th</sup>
century the Dutch and then the English East Asian companies were the dominant
traders between Asia and Europe, which explains how this simple 17th century
cup was found in a Sierra Leone harbor. It is a souvenir of the British
colonial rule of that West African nation, where it was acquired by Dan and
Margaret Sullivan who were stationed at the American Embassy in Freetown in the
1980s. Such cups were imported in vast amounts for the European drinkers
of tea, coffee and chocolate. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'> --<b>Synopsis of the May 2
session</b>: We visited the Reeves Collection at Washington and Lee
University, Lexington, Virginia. The some 4,000 pieces in the Collection
are largely 17th-19th century Chinese overglaze porcelain<span
style='color:#1F497D'>s</span> made for American and European markets, often
with family crests painted in bright enamels. The Collection includes
examples decorated in Canton/Guangzhou for George Washington’s Society of
Cincinnati.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>WLU Curator Ron Fuchs gave interesting background and told <span
style='color:#1F497D'>humorous illustrative </span>tales during our handling
session. The new WLU Japanese tea room was active on that Saturday with the
tea ceremony. The good number of members <!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
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src="cid:image006.jpg@01C9F953.2BDF0E10" align=left hspace=12
alt="Ceramics 4 & 5 09 045" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_2"><![endif]>who made
the three-hour trip south were rewarded with good weather, introduction to a
lovely liberal arts campus and a<span style='color:#1F497D'>n interesting</span>
presentation of a genre of Chinese porcelain – armorials – that few members have
in their collections, and are not in the Freer – Sackler collection. This
Chinese porcelain cup and saucer is from the WLU Collection.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'><b>--A new idea – “From Members’
Collections”:</b> Starting this autumn we want to add to the WOCG’s
monthly announcement examples of ceramics from members’
collections. If interested, email me a jpeg image and a comment on
the piece, i.e., where it was collected, its attraction for you, some
background on the type of ware, etc. If not imperial that’s okay.
We’d like to hear what turned you on to acquire it. I might add some
additional details as appropriate. The aim is to have one piece in each
WOCG announcement. I’ll be the decider on what pieces get published.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:
115%'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'> --<b>Two University
of Sydney-based archaeologists working in Cambodia</b> spoke to a fine crowd at
the Freer’s Meyer Auditorium on June 16. <u>Dr. Mitch Henderson</u> is
working on a never-studied <span style='color:#1F497D'>Angkorian </span>industrial
settlement northeast of Angkor. He noted that much of our basic
understanding of the Khmer Empire is the product of French School of the Far
East (EFEO)<span style='color:#1F497D'> savants</span>. They emphasized
Khmer Empire art history and the sequences of architectural styles. Their
work<span style='color:#1F497D'> ended </span>in 1975 when war and instability
intervened. <span style='color:#1F497D'> </span>Only in the past ten years
have serious archaeological studies have restarted around Angkor, and
increasingly further out from the capital of the Khmer Empire. A result
is the emergence of revised views of the Khmer Empire. For example, the
establishment of the Khmer Empire may have happened <span
style='color:#1F497D'>perhaps</span> hundred years earlier than its traditional
date of 802 CE. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:
115%'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'>Some Cambodian and
foreign archaeologists focus on the extensive road system that extended across
the Empire in all directions from Angkor, the capital. What was the
raison d’être for these Angkorian routes, which extended for hundreds of
kilometers? Apparently an important motive was to facilitate trade in
ceramics, fish, rice, gold, copper, bronze and iron tools and weapons and other
products. We now know that Cambodian kilns along these Angkorian roads
produced brown-glazed and other stonewares. The very large
industrial town site (five kilometers on each side) that Dr. Henderson is
studying was apparently a major iron producing settlement. It was the
terminus of a major highway.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:
115%'><u><span style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'> Dr. <span
style='color:#333333'>Dougald O’Reilly,</span></span></u><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'> head of Heritage Watch, presented a
much darker story. Heritage Watch is an internationally recognized
cultural preservation NGO (non-governmental organization) that works to
preserve Cambodian antiquities and to end the destruction of its unique
heritage. There is a crisis in looting cultural sites, O’Reilly
said. Vast numbers of looted antiquities are smuggled out. <span
style='color:black'>This trade is not restricted to impressive sculptural
pieces but also artifacts such as glass and stone beads, prehistoric tools and
ceramics. </span>Thailand and Singapore are prime markets for this
loot. Part of the non-profit Heritage Watch’s work is educating rural
Cambodians to stop rifling ancient sites. This is not an easy task in
this poor country struggling to get on its feet after its decades of
trouble. Plundering is a “huge” problem, as is the illegal cutting of
timber. <span style='color:#1F497D'> </span>Interestingly, Dr. <span
style='color:#333333'>O’Reilly</span> reported that farmers respect ancient
above ground stone structures like temples and rest houses. But
underground sites like cemeteries are ransacked indiscriminately. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:
115%'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'>Heritage Watch has
produced a “Red List” of Khmer Empire objects for customs officials to use in
efforts to stop the antiquities trade. A<span style='color:#1F497D'>t</span>
<span style='color:#1F497D'>the </span>current rate of destruction, underground
sites will be gone within five-six years, according to O’Reilly. Heritage
watch’s website is </span><a
href="http://www.heritagewatchinternational.org/"><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
line-height:115%'>http://www.heritagewatchinternational.org/</span></a><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:
115%'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'> --<b>The official
introduction of the on-line catalogue for the <span style='color:#1F497D'>“</span>Taking
Shape<span style='color:#1F497D'>”</span>exhibition</b> of the Freer-Sackler
Gallery took place on June 23. This is the first on-line catalogue
produced by the Freer-Sackler. It is intended to <span style='color:#1F497D'>be
</span>a reference tool for researchers and others interested in Southeast
Asian ceramics. The event itself was a webinar (web seminar) live
broadcast to an audience of hundreds in the US, Asia and Europe. Curator
Louise Cort described the array of material available in this catalogue.
David Rehfuss and George Williams<span style='color:#1F497D'>,</span> who
contributed articles<span style='color:#1F497D'>,</span> explained their
contributions and <span style='color:#1F497D'>all </span>took questions.
The website is at http://seasianceramics.asia.si.edu/.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;line-height:115%'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'>
The next WOCG meeting will be in the autumn, September 30. Have a
cool summer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;line-height:115%'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;text-align:center;
line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'>Warm regards,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;text-align:center;
line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;text-align:center;
line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'>David Rehfuss<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;line-height:115%'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;line-height:115%'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;line-height:115%'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;line-height:115%'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;line-height:115%'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;line-height:115%'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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