Professor Perry's Eclectic Art Collection

by Lisa Neuberger

Professor John Perry, who has been an integral part of the Fletcher family since1980, displays two very different types of art collections in his Fletcher office as well as in his North Shore home. 

One collection is of beautiful objects, such as masks, that were mostly given to him by former students; and the other is of rare books that he has passionately collected throughout his career.  In the first case, he feels more like a custodian or trustee of the artistic objects that he responsibly takes care of; and, in the second case, he is an active seeker of books to build his large, diverse collection.

Perry's office is full of colorful masks from all over Asia that hang on all the walls that are not already covered by books. The masks even dangle from the ceiling!  The most unusual mask is a Thai monkey god mask that hangs behind his desk.  This mask, given to Professor Perry by a former student he taught at Connecticut College, is worn like a hat covering three quarters of someone's head.  The Thai mask, which has a white background and monkey-like facial features drawn in primary colors, looks out the window, according to tradition, emanating good vibrations and discouraging evil. 

Some of the other masks hanging in his office given to him by Fletcher students are Korean masks that would have been used in Noh performances.  Noh drama is an ancient Japanese cultural tradition that has been described as a slow, almost static, dance-like form performed by three to four masked actors.  These masks stand out with their bright red hues and heightened facial expressions.

Professor Perry's attraction to Asian masks dates back to his desire to learn how to make Japanese wooden mask carvings.  This he developed as a Harvard doctoral student of Japanese and Oceanic History while studying abroad in Japan in the early 1960s.

He says that his interest in masks also relates to his fascination with the role of personality in history.  Perry is intrigued by British military historian John Keegan's thesis from The Mask of Command that effective leaders often assume a persona or create a personality, enhanced by the uniforms they wear, in order to project an image of power.  Perry explains, "Although the times often produce leaders appropriate to them, it is the genius of the individual who is able to embody the spirit of his or her time that makes true leadership."  Perry elaborates that the power of a mask is that it allows the person wearing that mask to establish a new relationship with onlookers or to potentially transform a human relationship. 

Perry's first mask that still hangs in his office was a paper-maché one made by his wife that many of his children wore for years of Halloween costume parties.  His most prized mask is a carved wooden one from Korea.  He says its "beauty lies in its simplicity."

True to his profession in higher education, Professor Perry's real passion is for collecting books.  His collection is varied, including books on his academic fields of interest, Asian gardens, cities as centers of culture and 19^th century travel accounts of Japan and East Asia.

Perry says that he collects books for their practical value.  One thing that motivates him to buy books is his desire to be prepared in all situations.  He explains, "When I have a question, I want to be able to answer it as soon as possible."  To this end, he has always kept a gigantic dictionary in the dining room to settle family disputes.  Although he does not always know when he will need any given book, he knows when he buys a book that it will come in handy someday.  

His most specialized and complete collection is of 19^th century travel accounts of Japan and East Asia.  He has many of the classics of the genre including the four volume (three volumes of text and one volume of maps) account of 19^th century U.S. naval officer Commodore Perry's expeditions. 

Professor Perry's collection of travel books was inspired by his own experiences traveling and living in Asia as well as circling the globe more than six times.  Perry has extensive files documenting his travels and he hopes to write about them one day.  Perry claims that his passion for Asia was originally sparked by the coincidence of the location of his first job as a messenger at the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, which he sought because of his childhood interest in becoming an Ambassador when he grew up. 

His advice to budding book collectors just starting out is to spend time focusing on the theme of the collection.  At a time when we are all overwhelmed by endless information, it is useful to channel the collecting energy toward one category, at first, to organize a strong collection.

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