Freer Study Collection

Housed in the Freer Gallery, the Freer Study Collection consists of objects that are kept in the study rooms and used for laboratory analysis, to include sampling for technical studies, and as comparative material by visiting scholars and students and Freer and Sackler staff. The Study Collection was established in 1923 to receive a group of objects purchased by archaeologist Carl Whiting Bishop while on an expedition in China to use for study at the Freer. Subsequently, the Study Collection has grown to include a variety of items including fragments of ancient Chinese ceremonial bronzes, and Japanese woodblock prints. In addition, the Study Collection contains important collections of pottery and porcelain sherds from known find-sites and known kiln sites such as:

Subsequently, the Study Collection has acquired mostly sherds of pottery and porcelain from known find-sites and known kiln sites:

• Hundreds of sherds from kiln sites in Thailand
• Sherds of Vietnamese ceramics collected in Indonesia and Cambodia.
• Chinese porcelain sherds from known find-sites around the Indian Ocean, from Indonesia to the coast of Africa
• One of the most comprehensive collection of sherds from Japanese kiln sites assembled outside Japan
• Sherds collcted at the site of Fostat, in old Cairo

Study Collection objects may not be exhibited in the Freer Gallery. However, they may be exhibited in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and lent to other institutions for study or exhibition.