Miniature jar with two holes in shoulders

Object Details

• Provenance

  At least 1976-?

  Probably found by John C. Shaw (1934-2024) in Thailand [1]

  ?-1986

  John R. Menke (1919-2009), gift from John C. Shaw [2]

  From 1986

  National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, gift of John R. Menke [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Study Collection object card, copy in object file. Object is described as, “Pottery [/] Thailand [/] Kalong [//] Source: gift to the donor[, John R. Menke,] from John Shaw.”

  See also John C. Shaw, “Kalong Introduction” [webpage], http://shawcollection.com/categery.php?pid=8, October 2024. According to John C. Shaw’s website, he first visited Kalong in 1976.

  John C. Shaw (1934-2024) was an English-born businessman and collector of Thai ceramics, Thai lacquer wares, silver, and other objects. Shaw attended Magdalen College at Oxford University and later married Pat Kemasingki, the daughter of a high-ranking Thai army officer. Shaw and his wife became interested in ceramics when they lived in Indonesia in the early 1970's. The couple started collecting Chinese export wares, but they shifted their focus to Thai ceramics when they relocated to Thailand. Shaw lived in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand between 1976 and 2001 and collected ceramics from sites in the region. Shaw also acquired objects from dealers and collectors in Thailand. He was the author of several books on ceramics, including the most important text in English on the wares and kilns in northern Thailand, entitled “Northern Thai Ceramics” (1981). His other book, “Introducing Thai Ceramics Also Burmese and Khmer” (1987), was reprinted by Citylife Publications as “Thai Ceramics” in 2009.

  [2] See incoming receipt, dated April 21, 1986, copy in object file. The object was transferred from John R. Menke to the Freer Gallery of Art for acquisition consideration on April 21, 1986. Object is described as one of the “Ceramic Shards: [/] […] [/] Kalong – 5 (excluding large waster already received [now FSC-P-3675]) [/] […].”

  John R. Menke (1919-2009) was a nuclear physicist and a collector of Southeast Asian ceramics for over forty years. Born in New York, Menke receive a Bachelor of Science from both the School of Engineering and the School of Physics at Columbia University, New York, NY. He worked in Southeast Asia on the acquisition of uranium and formed much of his collection of Southeast Asian ceramics at that time. In 1945, he married Betty Beyer (1920-2012) and the couple had two children. Menke was also a close friend of Robert P. Griffing Jr. (1914-1979) who was the Director (1947-1963) of the Honolulu Academy of Arts (now Honolulu Museum of Art). Objects from his collection may also be found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

  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.

  [3] See Deed of Gift, signed by the donor, John R Menke, on December 20, 1986, and by the museum’s director on December 29, 1986, copy in object file.

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

  Research updated October 11, 2024

• Collection

  Freer Study Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  John C. Shaw (1934-2024)

  John R. Menke (1919-2009)

• Origin

  Kalong, Chiang Rai province, Thailand

• Credit Line

  Gift of John Menke

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1400s, 1690s

• Name

  Menke, John R., Shaw, John C.

• Place

  Chiang Rai province, Kalong, Thailand

• Topic

  Art, Lan Sang period (1271 - 1707), Southeast Asian Art, Ceramics, Kalong ware, Lan Na period (1251 - 1774)

• Culture

  Southeast Asians

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)