China Then and Now began when Mr. Eason Eige contacted the Maxwell Museum about an eventual donation of his collection of Chinese ceramics. Mr. Eige is an accomplished painter, a retired curator, and a devoted collector who lives in Albuquerque's Old Town. In recent years he amassed more than 250 pieces of ancient and modern Chinese pottery.
For the Maxwell Museum's archaeology program, the Eige collection represents a chance to broaden its focus. Most of the museum's archaeology collections are from the New World, and most of those are from the U.S. Southwest. As this online exhibit shows, the museum is now thinking more in line with the University of New Mexico's focus, which is global.
David Phillips, who created the online exhibit, is the interim director of the Maxwell Museum. He is also a research associate professor of anthropology at UNM and a former curator of archaeology at the museum. Dave has been involved in archaeology as a volunteer, student, and professional since 1970.
Bernie Bernard is a professional photographer who contributed his labor to create images of pieces in the Eige collection of Chinese ceramics.
Tom Ocken is a graphic designer with a background in photography. As the museum's current volunteer photographer, he documents artifacts including some in this exhibit.
Co-curator Leon Natker is a former UNM graduate student and current ENMU graduate student. He has worked in China at the Neolithic site of Yangguanzhai, a Miaodigou period ceramic center. His research centers on identity markers in the production of material culture in both ethnographic and archaeological contexts.
As the museum's curator of photograhy, Catherine Baudoin (now retired) assisted with the logistics and post-production for photographs.
If you wish to learn more about Chinese ceramics, Chinese history and culture, or Chinese-American history (especially for New Mexico, click here. Many of the publications were used to build this web site.
See source code for copyright information. Page last revised on January 8, 2018. Please report problems to toh@unm.edu
