James A. Thomas and Two Eunuchs
First Floor:
- Mrs. Benjamin N. Duke (painting)
- Benjamin N. Duke (painting)
- Tending The Flock (painting)
- Beach Scene (painting)
- Mary L. Duke (painting)
- Angier B. Duke (painting)
- William K. Boyd (painting)
- Thomas J. Jarvis (painting)
- Washington Duke (painting)
- Duke University in Picture (book)
- Bessie Whitted Spence (painting)
- Benjamin N. Duke (painting)
- James H. Southgate (painting)
- Grand Master Clock
- Eva Earnshaw Malone (painting)
- Benjamin N. Duke (marble bust)
- Library Table
Second Floor:
- James A. Thomas and Two Eunuchs (photograph)
- Dorothy Quincy Hancock Read (photograph)
- Generalissimo and Madame Chiang Kai-shek (photograph)
- Sarah P. Duke (painting)
- Mary Duke Lyon (painting)
- The Reapers (painting)
- Marble Lions (statues)
Thomas Room:
- James A. Thomas (painting)
- Porcelain Urns with Mythical Beasts
- Embroidered Bedspread
- Chinese Rug
- Ishii Vases
- Carved Chests
- Wei To (embroidery)
- Elderly Man (scroll)
- People in Outdoor Setting (scroll)
- Lady in Red (scroll)
- Calligraphy (scroll)
- Porcelain Lion Lamps
- Table with Marble Top
- Cheang Park Chew (painting)
- Porcelain Urns with Lids
- Chinese Cabinet
- Imperial Robe
- Coromandel Screen
- Teakwood Tables
- Altar Table
- Embroidered Scroll with Nine Figures
- Winter Landscape (ink on silk)
James A. Thomas and Two Eunuchs, Photograph, 8" x 11" (matted in a 14"x 18" frame)
This photograph was taken in 1900, in Beijing, when the Empress Dowager decorated Thomas. It is now located on the second floor, at the northern entry to the Thomas Room. Thomas is wearing a Mandarin robe of the Fifth Grade of the Qing Court (1644-1911) and a crystal button hat. At his side are two eunuchs holding and smoking British-American Tobacco Company cigarettes.
James A. Thomas (1862-1940), a friend and business associate of James and Benjamin Duke, spent over thirty years in China managing operations for the British-American Tobacco Company. Thomas was instrumental in the creation of a Far Eastern collection in the Duke University Libraries. After his death in 1940, a proposal to continue the book collection and establish a James A. Thomas Memorial Room in what was then the Woman's College Library was approved. The room was officially dedicated on December 1, 1942.
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