Roxanna Brown
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Roxanna Maude Brown (May 2, 1946 – May 14, 2008) was a prominent authority on
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
n
ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...
and director of the Bangkok University's Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum. Her research of Ming Dynasty ceramics greatly improved knowledge of trade in China and surrounding areas. She also often assisted the US government in investigating art smuggling, but she herself was implicated in art fraud in 2008. She was arrested for wire fraud and died in prison several days later. After facing a medical malpractice suit, the Federal Bureau of Prisons settled with her family in 2009.


Biography

Brown was born on a farm in
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, United States, and received a bachelor's degree from
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
in 1968. She then became a journalist in
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...
, where her brother was serving in the U.S. Army during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. Interested in Asian art, she earned a master's degree from
University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University. The university offers degree program ...
in 1973. She married and made her home in Bangkok, but she was run over and nearly killed in a traffic accident in the 1980s, which cost her a leg and seriously damaged her hearing. Nevertheless, in 2004, she received a Ph.D. from
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
, working on the so-called Ming Gap, a 300-year interval when China blocked exports of ceramics. A production boom across Southeast Asia resulted. Brown's analysis of ceramics recovered from shipwrecks of the period "revolutionized the understanding of trade patterns in the region," according to colleagues cited in the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
''.Brown, Roxanna M. The Ming Gap and Shipwreck: Ceramics in Southeast Asia. Thesis (Ph. D.),
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
, 2004
WorldCat
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Arrest and death

While employed as a curator by Bangkok University, she became involved in the investigation of the smuggling of art objects from
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
to the United States, particularly from the Ban Chiang cultural tradition, assisting U.S. Government agents. However, she was herself implicated in the possible false authentication of stolen objects, based on material found during January 2008 raids on the
Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...
, the
Pacific Asia Museum USC Pacific Asia Museum is an Asian art museum located at 46 N. Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, California, United States. The museum was founded in 1971 by the Pacificulture Foundation, which purchased "The Grace Nicholson Treasure House of Orien ...
in
Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...
, the
Bowers Museum The Bowers Museum is an art museum located in Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana, California. The museum's permanent collection includes more than 100,000 objects, and features notable strengths in the areas of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, Native Ame ...
in
Santa Ana, California Santa Ana (Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census. As ...
, and the
Mingei International Museum Mingei International Museum is a non-profit public institution in Balboa Park in San Diego, California, that collects, conserves and exhibits folk art, craft, and design. The museum was founded in 1974, and its building opened in 1978. The word ' ...
in
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. Emails and records were discovered that alleged Brown had offered to sell Thai antiquities to the smuggling ring. She was also accused of signing false appraisals of antiquities, enabling them to be sold for an inflated price. Brown was arrested on May 9, 2008, for alleged
wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...
when she arrived in the United States to deliver a lecture at an Asian art symposium at the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
. In her initial interview, Brown denied selling any objects or providing false appraisals. When presented with evidence, Brown said she had forgotten that she had been paid $14,000 payment for antiquities, and admitted signing blank appraisals. She was found dead in her cell at the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac on May 14. The charge was dropped immediately after her death at the facility. The question of her actual involvement in the smuggling ring, the justification for her arrest, and her lack of medical attention after it, was the subject of a series of articles in the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
''.


Medical malpractice lawsuit

A medical malpractice lawsuit was filed by her son, Taweesin (Jaime) Ngerntongdee, after it was determined that Brown had died of
peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and covering of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One pa ...
caused by a
perforated ulcer A perforated ulcer is a condition in which an untreated ulcer has burned through the mucosal wall in a segment of the gastrointestinal tract (e.g., the stomach or colon) allowing gastric contents to leak into the abdominal cavity. Signs and symp ...
. The suit claimed she had suffered stomach problems in the detention center and that other inmates took her to a shower after a guard would not respond when she vomited something that "smelled like excrement." When Brown requested for help after the 10 p.m.
lockdown A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...
on May 13, the guard told her she would have to wait until the morning for medical attention, according to the suit. Detention center officials acknowledged there was no overnight medical staff on duty and took the case to
mediation Mediation is a structured, voluntary process for resolving disputes, facilitated by a neutral third party known as the mediator. It is a structured, interactive process where an independent third party, the mediator, assists disputing parties ...
. The federal government
settled A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...
the case for $880,000 in July 2009. Attorney Tim Ford stated part of the settlement stipulated that Brown's death would be investigated by the
Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all List of United States federal prisons, federal prisons ...
.


Books

She was author of a number of academic books on Southeast Asian ceramics. Among the ones that established her early reputation are: * Brown, Roxanna M. The Ceramics of South-East Asia: Their Dating and Identification. Oxford in Asia studies in ceramics. Kuala Lumpur:
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 1977. * Brown, Roxanna M. "Guangdong Ceramics from Butuan and Other Philippine Sites: An Exhibition Catalogue." Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines: The Society, 1989. * Brown, Roxanna. ''Ceramic Excavations in the Philippines'' A Talk Given to the Southeast Asian Ceramic Society. Singapore: Southeast Asian Ceramic Society, 1972. * Brown, Roxanna M. "Legend and Reality: Early Ceramics from South-East Asia." Exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, from January 17 Until February 26, 1978. Cambridge:
Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities University museum, museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard ...
, 1978. *Brown, Roxanna M. The Legacy of Phra Ruang: An Exhibition of Thai Ceramics and of Ancient Pottery from Ban Chieng, Wednesday, 12 June-Wednesday, 26 June 1974. London: Bluett & Sons, 1974. Among her later works are: *Brown, Roxanna M., and Sten Sjostrand. Maritime Archaeology and Shipwreck Ceramics in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Published on the occasion of the exhibition Malaysian Maritime Archaeology by Dept. of Museums & Antiquities in collaboration with Nanhai Marine Archaeology Sdn. Bhd, 2001. *Brown, Roxanna M., and Sten Sjostrand. Turiang: A Fourteenth-Century Shipwreck in Southeast Asian Waters. Pasadena, CA:
Pacific Asia Museum USC Pacific Asia Museum is an Asian art museum located at 46 N. Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, California, United States. The museum was founded in 1971 by the Pacificulture Foundation, which purchased "The Grace Nicholson Treasure House of Orien ...
, 2000. .


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Roxanna 1946 births 2008 deaths American art curators American women curators American art historians Columbia University alumni Alumni of SOAS University of London University of California, Los Angeles alumni University of Singapore alumni Writers from California Writers from Illinois Prisoners who died in United States federal government detention 20th-century American historians American war correspondents of the Vietnam War American women in the Vietnam War American women war correspondents American women art historians 20th-century American women writers American expatriates in Thailand American amputees 21st-century American women