Please note: This lecture will be held in person in room 1010, Weiser Hall, and virtually on Zoom. The webinar is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Once you've registered, joining information will be sent to your email. Register for the Zoom webinar at https://myumi.ch/79Q63

James Marshall Plumer (1899–1960) is remembered as a U-M professor and authority on East Asian ceramics, best known for identifying the kiln site of Jian (Tenmoku) ware in China. Between 1948 and 1949, Plumer served as Fine Arts Advisor to the General Headquarters of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, traveling around Japan to assess the condition of cultural properties. During the trips, he collected Mingei (Folk Art Movement) pottery, images of folk deities, and Ainu objects, which later became part of the University of Michigan Museum of Art’s (UMMA) holdings. Drawing upon these objects and his personal diaries, this talk examines Plumer’s collecting journey and highlights his legacy as an advocate of Japanese art and influential cultural leader in the immediate postwar period.

Natsu Oyobe, Ph.D., is curator of Asian art at the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA). Specializing in modern and contemporary Japanese art, she has curated numerous art exhibitions, including Isamu Noguchi and Qi Baishi: Beijing 1930 (2013) and Clay as Soft Power: Shigaraki Ware in Postwar America and Japan (2022). She is also a co-curator of Menoko Yukar: Woven Stories of Ainu Women, which will open at UMMA in 2028.

Image: James Marshall Plumer at Yue ware kiln site, Zhejiang province, China. James Marshall Plumer Papers, FSA.A.14, National Museum of Asian Art Archives, donated by Caroline I. Plumer, 1961.

Accommodation: If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us at cjsevents@umich.edu. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.