Tile fragment

Object Details

• Provenance

  12th century or later-1971

  Burma, Pagan, the Phar Ceti stupa in the Mimalakyaung complex [1]

  1971-1984

  Found by Dean F. Frasche

  (1906-1994) at the Phar Ceti stupa in the Mimalakyaung complex in Pagan, Burma [2]

  From 1984

  National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Dean F. Frasche [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See the adhesive label on the object, which indicates that the object was collected by Dean F. Frasche from the Phar Ceti stupa in Pagan, Burma in 1971. The label states, “PAGAN, BURMA, 1971 [/] FROM PHAR CETI (1610/918) [/] SMALL STUPA IN MIMALAUNG-KYAUNG [/] GROUP).” The number “1610/918” is the monument inventory number in Pierre Pichard, “Inventory of the Monuments of Bagan.” On the same label, inscribed in green wax pencil, “DFF PHAR-13-71.” The letter “DFF” probably stand for Dean F. Frasche.

  See also David P. Rehfuss, "Ceramic Sherds from Southeast Asia—The Freer Study Collection and its Donors," Ceramics in Mainland Southeast Asia: Collections in the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 2008, http://SEAsianCeramics.asia.si.edu. Rehfuss states that Frasche’s “[t]ile fragments from Burma (Myanmar) were surface finds in Pagan.”

  Dean F. Frasche (1906-1994) was an American business executive and well-known collector of Asian ceramics. His interest in ceramics began in the 1930s when he lived in the Philippines as a surveyor for the Belgian government. After World War II, he ran Union Carbide Corporation's tin mining operations in Thailand. Frasche curated “Southeast Asian Ceramics: Ninth through Seventeenth Century” (Asia Society, New York, 1976), the first major exhibition of Southeast Asian ceramics in the United States, and also authored the accompanying exhibition catalogue. He acquired most of the Thai wares in his collection at or near their kiln sites. Objects from his collection may also be found at the Cleveland Museum of Art; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University; and the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan. See David P. Rehfuss, "Ceramic Sherds from Southeast Asia—The Freer Study Collection and its Donors," Ceramics in Mainland Southeast Asia: Collections in the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 2008, http://SEAsianCeramics.asia.si.edu.

  [2] See the Registrar’s memo, dated November 2, 1984, copy in object file. The object was transferred from Dean F. Frasche to the Freer Gallery of Art for acquisition consideration before November 2, 1984. The memo states, “Received from Mr. Frasche many shards from the Philippines, Thailand, etc. See Study Collection (Mrs. [Jo] Knapp) for quantity and numbering.”

  [3] See Study Collection card, copy in object file. The card states that this object is a “Gift of Dean Frasche, October 1984.”

  The object is part of the museum’s Freer Study Collection.

  Research updated October 30, 2024

• Collection

  Freer Study Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  Dean F. Frasche (1906-1994)

• Origin

  Burma

• Credit Line

  Gift of Dean Frasché

• Type

  Architectural Element

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1100s

• Name

  Frasche, Dean F.

• Place

  Burma

• Topic

  Art, Pagan period (ca. 950 - 1300), Pottery, Southeast Asian Art, Ceramics

• Culture

  Southeast Asians

• Object Type

  Architectural elements