TWO CERAMIC PIECES FROM THE ASIAN ART MUSEUM OF SAN FRANCISCO

Abstract

lections lie firmly in the nineteenth century, but collectors have continued their activities, with many new names added to their ranks, throughout the twentieth century. One collector who has not been acknowledged, probably because he is usually associated with East and South Asian art, is Avery Brundage (1887-1975). The collection that he and his wife, Elizabeth, donated in 1960 to the city of San Francisco forms the backbone of the Asian Art Museum holdings. Avery Brundage was perhaps best known for his role in the Olympic Games movement and as president of the International Olympic Committee from 1952 through 1972. His extensive travels in pursuit of his Olympic ideals gave him a unique opportunity to visit many Asian countries. The Brundage collection numbers some eight thousand pieces, five hundred of which are West Asian works of art, including prehistoric Iranian ceramics, Luristan bronzes, and an excellent representative corpus of Islamic wares (some 320 artifacts). However, in true museum tradition, there are many more pieces in the reserves than on display. Sadly, there is no supportive correspondence or personal record indicating why Brundage purchased these objects, or if he had any idea of their provenance, if indeed he cared. But it is evident that he had a good eye for the unusual and the interesting. Two ceramic pieces are of particular interest: a polychrome, early Abbasid luster bowl, accession number B60 P478 (fig. 1), and an underglaze-painted blue, black, and white dish, B60 P1962 (fig. 2)-the luster bowl because it is unique, and the underglaze-painted dish because it is an excellent example of its type, and its provenance, whether Syrian Mamluk or Iranian, is open to question. Most Islamic collections have samples of these wares, but little progress has been made in researching those of Iranian origin since Gerald Reitlinger's seminal article was published in 1938.2 The Mamluk wares have received more attention, but no definitive conclusions have been drawn to differentiate one ware from