REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 29 



Curatorial work within the collection has been devoted to the 

 study of Chinese, Japanese, Armenian, Arabic, and Persian objects, 

 and of the texts and seals associated with them, including those newly 

 acquired; also to the examination of objects submitted to the curator 

 by other institutions or by private owners for an opinion as to their, 

 identity, their meaning, or their historic or esthetic value. A total 

 of 1,268 objects and 153 photographs of objects were examined in 

 this way and written or oral reports were made upon them. Also, 

 14 texts were submitted for translation. 



Changes in exhibition have involved a total of 190 subjects, as 

 follows : 



Book-bindings 6 



Bronzes, Chinese 11 



Glass, Syrian 7 



A.Ianuscripts 9 



Paintings, American 78 



aintings, Chinese 6 



^dintings, Indian 6 



Paintings, Japanese 18 



Paintings, Persian 9 



Pottery, Chinese 19 



Pottery, Persian 15 



Silver, Persian 1 



Stone sculpture, Chinese 4 



Wood-carving, Persian 1 



The special exhibition of Whistler's work installed on May 14, 

 1934, in honor of the Whistler Centenary, was taken down on 

 December 26. 



ATTENDANCE 



The Gallery has been open every day from 9 until 4 : 30 o'clock, 

 with the exception of Mondays, Christmas Day, and New Year's 

 Day. 



The total attendance of visitors coming in at the main entrance was 

 130,323. The total attendance for week days, exclusive of Mondays, 

 was 86,754; for Sundays, 43,569. The average Sunday attendance 

 was 837, the average week-day attendance 335, a ratio of 2i/2 to 1. 

 As always, the highest monthly attendance was reached in April 

 (26,323) and August (13,296). The lowest monthly attendance was 

 in December (5,576). 



The total attendance of visitors on Mondays, by the south entrance, 

 was 23, making a grand total attendance of 130,346. 



There were 1,734 visitors to the offices during the year. The pur- 

 poses of their visits were as follows : 



For general information 315 



To see objects in storage 304 



Far Eastern paintings 106 



Near Eastern paintings 19 



American paintings 63 



Whistler etchings 6 



Oriental pottery, bronzes, sculptures, jades 110 



To examine building and installation 36 



To read in the library 260 



To see Biblical manuscripts 44 



