December 8 virtual event: “Science and Technology of Asian Ceramics and Glass at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.”

The Carolinas Section of the American Ceramic Society hosted a unique lecture & networking event on Wednesday, December 8, 2021.

Dr. Blythe McCarthy, the Andrew W. Mellon Senior Scientist at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, presented “Science and Technology of Asian Ceramics and Glass at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.” An abstract is pasted below.

Full abstract: Ceramics and glass research at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art is undertaken to understand the technology as well as determine or confirm place of origin. Scientific studies of ceramics have been undertaken at the museum since the 1950s. Case studies of Asian ceramics and glass will be discussed, highlighting the non-destructive and microsampling methods in use at the museum today and their limitations.