96 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1956 



One other meeting was held in the building when the Far Eastern 

 Ceramic Group had its fall meeting in Storage II and used the facili- 

 ties of the library. Attendance, 22. 



STAFF ACTIVITIES 



The work of the staff members has been devoted to the study of new 

 accessions, of objects contemplated for purchase, and of objects sub- 

 mitted for examination as well as to individual research projects in 

 the fields represented by the collections of Chinese, Japanese, Persian, 

 Arabic, and Indian materials. Reports, oral or written, and exclusive 

 of those made by the technical laboratory (listed below) were made 

 on 7,258 objects as follows: for private individuals, 4,975; for deal- 

 ers, 1,072; for other museums, 1,211. In all, 552 photographs were 

 examined, and 320 Oriental language inscriptions were translated for 

 outside individuals and institutions. By request 19 groups totaling 

 468 persons met in the exhibition galleries for docent service by stalf 

 members. Two groups totaling 74 persons were given docent service 

 in the storage rooms. 



Among the visitors were 70 distinguished foreign scholars or per- 

 sons holding official positions in their own countries who came here 

 under the auspices of the State Department to study museum ad- 

 ministration and practices in this country. 



In the technical laboratory 90 objects from the Freer collections 

 and 74 from outside sources were examined. The following projects 

 were begun: Quantitative chemical analyses of ancient Chinese 

 bronzes ; thin-section studies on Chinese porcelain bodies and glazes ; 

 study of ancient Chinese bronze-iron objects to determine means of 

 fabrication and special behavior during soil corrosion. The following 

 projects were continued: X-ray diffraction studies on jade objects in 

 the Freer collections; examination of specimens of wall painting 

 from the ancient Christian church of the Chora, Istanbul (in cooper- 

 ation with Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection). The 

 following projects were completed: Spectrochemical analyses of 

 samples from ancient Persian and Near Eastern silver objects (results 

 to be published later) ; treatment and conservation of several Freer 

 Gallery objects, mostly bronzes. During the year, 22 written reports 

 were made and 56 verbal reports given on objects examined in the 

 technical laboratory. 



By invitation the following lectures (illustrated unless otherwise 

 noted) were given outside the Gallery by staff members : 



1955 

 November 8. Dr. Ettinghausen, at the Near Eastern Research Club, University 

 of Michigan, on "The Riddle of a Famous Persian Pottery 

 Plate." Attendance, 35. 



