42 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1921. 



public interest is subject to litigation, and its acquisition by the Mu- 

 seum depends upon action by the courts. 



A set of 169 pieces of heavy porcelain with blue decoration was 

 received b}'^ the section of ceramics as a bequest from Miss Caroline 

 Henry. This porcelain was given to Prof. Joseph Henry b}"- the 

 first Japanese minister to the United States. The ware is interest- 

 ing as representative of the first somewhat crude attempts to adapt 

 Euroj^ean forms in Japanese ceramic art; Mr. Grosvenor B. Clark- 

 son, Washington, D. C, presented two Japanese porcelain vases in 

 blue and white ; Miss Freeman and Mrs. B. H. Buckingham, Wash- 

 ington, D. C, presented six large Japanese and Chinese plaques 

 with rich decoration in colors and a Japanese bronze statuette. 



EXPLORATIONS AND EXPEDITIONS. 



Dr. W. L. Abbott is a constant contributor of the results of his 

 numerous explorations east and west. At present his material is 

 coming from Haiti and Santo Domingo. The major expeditions 

 of a scientific nature have contributed little material for anthro- 

 pology. Special archeological explorations in Arizona and New 

 Mexico directed by the Museum, the Bureau of American Eth- 

 nology, and the National Geographic Society added much excellent 

 material. The expedition of the National Geographic Society to 

 the Chaco Canyon ruined cities in New Mexico, directed by Mr. Neil 

 M. Judd, of the National Museum, is expected to produce important 

 results. This expedition, which set off in April, contemplates five 

 years researches in Chaco Canyon. The preliminary work on this 

 expedition was carried on during the summer and a large collection 

 of artifacts sent in. Dr. J. Walter Fewkes's epoch-making investi- 

 gations on Mesa Verde, Colo., for the Bureau of American Eth- 

 nology and the Department of the Interior were productive of dis- 

 tinctive scientific and educational results. 



WORK or PEKSBRVING AND INSTALLING THE COLLECTIONS PRESENT CONDITION OF 



COLLECTIONS. 



It is difficult to characterize the multifarious and intricate work 

 accomplished by any department of the Museum. The high stand- 

 ards of the National Museum embrace every feature from the 

 minute to the greatest. The visible Museum must be kept to the 

 highest point of perfection and the work this necessitates is con- 

 stant and exacting. In the background is the tremendous routine 

 of occupational activities which the Geologist Lesley called " dead- 

 work," and which must be completed before specimens are brought 

 to public view. 



The care of specimens in ethnology presents many problems on 

 account of the character and variety of the material. Some of the 



