SCMA’s longtime supporter Dr. Elizabeth E. Force passed away in April of 2023, leaving a bequest of artworks that she had intended for the museum for more than two decades. In May, Jane Chace Carroll Curator of Asian Art Yao Wu and registrar emeritus Deborah Diemente visited Dr. Force’s apartment in Delray Beach, Florida, to study the collection. After an initial round of assessment, SCMA staff brought more than 200 pieces back to the museum, ranging from Asian ceramics, ivories, jades, lacquerware and metalwork to sculptures made by contemporary Inuit artists.

A highlight of this bequest is lacquerware made in the 18th and 19th centuries in Japan, which we celebrated in a special exhibition and an accompanying catalogue at SCMA in 2017, both titled Japanese Lacquer in the Collection of Dr. Elizabeth E. Force. Yao Wu oversaw the project with academic input from Monika Bincsik, Curator of Japanese Decorative Arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Dr. Force was able to travel to SCMA to see the exhibition in person, which reaffirmed her fondness of and support for the museum.

SCMA staff will accession a selection of these objects based on their quality, how they fit into the existing collection, their provenance documentation and other legal and ethical considerations. The rest of the collection will be sold to establish a Dr. Elizabeth E. Force Fund for Learning and Professional Development in Asian Art, per her wishes.

above: Document Box (Ryōshibako) with Maple and Deer. Edo period (1615–1868), mid-19th century. Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, kirikane, cut-out gold foil application, black and red lacquer accents, and mother-of-pearl inlay. The Elizabeth E. Force Collection of East Asian Art, bequest of Dr. Elizabeth E. Force. Photograph by Matt Vought