70 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1954 



Three outside organizations used the auditorium as follows : 



195S 



Oct. 27. U. S. Departmeiit of Agriculture Bureau of Agricultural Econom- 



ics used the Freer Gallery auditorium from 12 noon to 4 : 40 

 p. m. for an Outlook Conference on "Housing." Attendance, 148. 

 Oct. 27. The Washington Society of the Archaeological Institute of 



America used the Freer Gallery auditorium for a lecture at 

 8 : 15 p. m. by Prof. Christopher Hawks of Oxford University on 

 "Transformation of Classical Elements in Celtic Art." Attend- 

 ance, 48. 

 Nov. 5. Resettlement Administration of the U. S. Department of Agricul- 



ture held a meeting in the Freer Gallery auditorium from 2 to 

 4 : 30 p. m. Attendance, 08. 



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 

 submitted for examination, as well as to individual research projects 

 in the fields represented by the collections of Chinese, Japanese, Per- 

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

 exclusive of those made by the technical laboratory on specimens 

 (listed below), were made upon 3,781 objects as follows: belonging to 

 private individuals, 2,304; belonging to dealers, 862; belonging to 

 other museums, 615. In all, 1,115 photographs of objects were ex- 

 amined and 668 oriental language inscriptions were translated for 

 outside individuals and institutions. By request, 13 groups totaling 

 223 persons met in the exhibition galleries for docent service by staff 

 members ; and 3 groups totaling 57 persons were given docent service 

 in the study-storage rooms. There were 96 distinguished foreign 

 visitors who studied the collections. 



In the technical laboratory 85 objects from the Freer Collection 

 were examined and 49 from outside sources. The project on organic 

 red pigment was completed and the results published, and work on 

 the copper corrosion product in ancient Egyptian bronze was con- 

 tinued. The collection of abstracts of Technical Studies in Art and 

 Archaeology was concluded, and a new collection of abstracts for the 

 International Institute of Conservation was begun. Additional speci- 

 mens were added to the permanent collection for purposes of com- 

 parison, and a complete X-ray diffraction powder camera with track 

 and bracket assembly was added to the laboratory equipment. 



By invitation the following lectures were given outside the Gallery 

 by staff members: 



196S 



Aug. 7. Mr. Stern gave a lecture at Fordham University on "The Exhibi- 



tion of Japanese Painting and Sculpture Currently Touring the 

 United States." (Illustrated.) Attendance, 35. 



