Asian Art
About the Collection
The Gettysburg Asian Art collection is a unique repository of objects that reflects the remarkable breadth of aesthetic production by the peoples of Asia.
Consisting of approximately 2,000 objects, the collection includes everyday items such as writing materials, clothing and personal adornment articles as well as ritual vessels and altar screens. Created from ceramic, porcelain, jade and other stones, glass, bronze and other metals, ivory, wood and horn, silk and paper, and textiles, these objects span the years from the Shang dynasty (1700-1027 B.C.) to the Qing dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.) and into the mid-20th century.
The majority of objects in this collection are from China, but it also contains items from Japan, Korea, Java, India, and Central Asia. These objects can also be searched by category such as bamboo, cloisonné, glass, horn, ivory, jade and other stones, lacquer, metal, porcelain and other ceramics, and wood.
Donors
Over the years, many faculty, alumni and friends have donated Asian art to the College. The largest gift came from Dr. Frank H. Kramer (1886-1963), a graduate of the Class of 1914 and a member of the Gettysburg faculty from 1920 to 1956. Kramer was an avid collector and used his extensive personal collection to teach "Appreciation of Oriental Art" for fifteen years. In 1963 he bequeathed his collection to Gettysburg College.
Other major donors to the Asian Art Collection are: Judith and Arthur Hart Burling, Akiko Bowers (in memory of John Z. Bowers ’33), Rev. Glen H. Bowersox ’42, Esther Cessna, Chao Ming Chen, Harold C. Cooper ’63, Mr. and Mrs. Chester North Frazier, Paul L. Frey ’36, John H. Hampshire, Edith Keely, Georgeanna Knisely ’54, James Shin Matsushita ’23, Dr. and Mrs. Frank W. Parker, William E. ’16 and Lillian Patrick, Price Rogers, Timothy Schmitt ’63, Mrs. George H. Schwartz, Rev. Malcolm ’36 and Janet Moyer Shutters ’39, General C. A. Willoughby ’14, Chan Wing, and Dr. Jeremiah Zimmerman (Class of 1873).