TEXTILES, GARMENTS & NEEDLEWORK
0063 At the Bristol Exhibition of Industrial & Ornamental Art in 1861 was displayed: ‘a rich Lady’s Dress from the Summer Palace,’ (J. Beavington Atkinson, Handbook to the Bristol Exhibition of Industrial & Ornamental Art, Held by the Fine Arts’ Academy Queens Road, 1861.)
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0115 The following notice appeared in a Dublin paper in 1861:
‘The South Kensington Museum has received a valuable addition to its curious stores by the present from Major Green, of the 77th Regiment, of silks, richly embroidered, and obtained by the major from the summer palace of Pekin, which it was thought necessary to plunder and destroy.’ (14 May 1861, Dublin Evening Mail, p. 4.)
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0017 In June 1861 the Northampton Mercury printed a letter from a traveller named ‘Harby’ to a Mr. Ball. The letter disclosed that it was accompanied by a ‘memento’ of the Chinese war: ‘one of the Empress of China’s dresses, obtained by me from a Sikh soldier, after the sacking of the Summer Palace ... I hope it will not be too gaudy for you wife to make something out of it; at any rate, I trust the novelty will render it acceptable to her ... There were thousands of Mandarins dresses and rolls of silk taken from the palace, but I have not seen a handsomer one than the one I send.’ (1 June 1861, The Northampton Mercury, p. 7.)
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0015 In the summer of 1861, Messrs. Foster advertised silks at auction:
‘Pall-mall.–Rich Chinese Silks, part of the booty obtained by the allied troops, at the Emperor’s summer palace of Yeun-min-Yuen, Pekin. Messrs. Foster have received instructions to sell by Auction ... June 14th, 112 pieces of rich CHINESE SILKS taken during the late war from the Emperor’s summer palace at Pekin. Those silks, made exclusively for the Imperial princes and mandarins of high rank, comprise in colours yellow, orange, light blues, dark blues, greens, purples, reds, and browns. They are admirably adapted for dresses, dressing gowns, curtains, chair and sofa coverings, &c. also some beautiful Delhi shawls and scarves, and some Oriental china and curiosities ...’ (14 June 1861, Morning Post, p. 16.)
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0026 ‘MESSRS. CHRISTIE, MANSON, and WOODS respectfully give notice that they will SELL, by AUCTION ... several splendid ancient enamels, taken by an officer from the Summer Palace at Pekin, and a magnificent old porcelain bottle; a very fine Indian silver centrepiece; the Emperor’s great seal of State, a beautiful work, carved in green jade; splendid embroidered Chinese court dresses, the covering of the Imperial throne; slabs of jade engraved with characters, part of the imperial archives, and other highly interesting and beautiful specimens of Chinese art, from the Summer Palace at Pekin. (1 July 1861, ‘Sales by Auction’, Morning Post, p. 8.)
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0021 A ‘Grand Exhibition of Arms’ at the Royal Naval School, New-cross, showed arms from Asia and Europe, including: ‘trophies of objects from the great battles of the present century; arms and armour of Tippoo Saib; splendid loot from Delhi, Lucknow, the two Burmese wars, and the Summer Palace at Pekin; including dresses of the King and Queen of Delhi, Emperor of China, &c’. (17 July 1861, Morning Post, p. 1.)
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0025 In 1861 the Morning Post reviewed an exhibition of Chinese gowns from the Yuanmingyuan at Madame Tussaud’s:
‘Nothing can surpass in brilliancy and tone of colours, richness of material, and purity of design, the dresses captured at the taking of the Summer Palace at Pekin ... The manufacturers of Lyons have, it is believed, the best claim to perfection in their art, and some things have been produced in this country entitled to great praise; but they are clearly inferior to these Chinese silks, both in design and in texture. The most gorgeous and magnificent effects are produced, yet the mode of treatment of the colours has prevented all that in most hands would have been tawdry. They are well worth a visit.’ (21 August 1861, Morning Post, p. 6.)
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0023 In 1861 the Suffolk Archaeological Institute mounted an exhibition. A reviewer commended a display on ‘the arts of Persia, India, and China’:
‘the porcelain of China, their lamps, of which one from the famous Summer Palace of the Emperor is before us, as well as some rich embroidery from the same place, show what excellence had been attained by the East.’ (27 August 1861, Bury and Norwich Post, p. 2.)
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0018 In the autumn of 1861, Debenham, Storr and Sons sold, among other goods, lot 214: ‘A sable mantle from the Summer Palace, Pekin, £20.’ (9 November 1861, Norfolk Chronicle, p. 2.)
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0022 In 1862, there was a ‘Scientific Exhibition’ at the Mechanics’ Institute, Northampton. For this occasion: ‘Mr. W. Shoosmith contributed a dress from the Summer Palace at Pekin, said to have belonged to the Empress of China, of gorgeous yellow silk, richly ornamented with an essentially Chinese pattern’. (11 January 1862, Northampton Mercury, p. 5.)
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0099 A Rifle Volunteer Bazaar took place at Derby in the spring of 1862. On display was ‘a collection of splendid and costly articles, recently brought by Major Wilmot from China and Japan, and which included Vestments, Enamels, Jadestones, and other curiosities, taken from the Yuen Men Yuen, (the Emperor’s Summer Palace) at Pekin ... the most minutely examined, was the Emperor’s state-robe, the winter dress of the Chinese Ma[n]darin, the emperor’s shawls, and stockings; of them six and seven hundred years old ... Emperor of China’s dresses not made up. (15 April 1862, Nottinghamshire Guardian, p. 5.)
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0089 In September 1862, a bazaar took place in Bideford for St. Mary’s church. Stall number 6 showed ‘some curious embroidery taken from the Summer Palace at Pekin’. (11 September 1862, North Devon Journal, p. 8.) At stall 7 was ‘a hat and dress that belonged–had actually been worn it was said, by the late Emperor of the Flowery Land–the Son of Heaven, when under the sun, and an inhabitant of the Summer Palace, at Pekin. This appeared to have been a part of somebody’s loot, the dress being of the imperial yellow, and valued at £30. These articles were for the inspection of the curious only, not for sale.’ At stall 4, ‘A Chinese silk dress from the “Summer Palace” at Pekin asked a buyer at £3’. (13 September 1862, Western Times, p. 6.)
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0090 In 1862 an advertisment for the Egremont Bazaar in the Liverpool Mercury mentioned the following display: ‘exhibited for the first time, a magnificent SABLE MANTLE, taken from the Summer Palace, Pekin, and belonging to the Emperor of China...’ (26 December 1862, Liverpool Mercury, p. 1.)
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0014 In 1863 Mr. Solomon Sly ‘presented to the Weymouth Museum, two very interesting trophies from the Emperor of China’s Summer Palace.’ One was: ‘A very curious coat, of extraordinary dimensions, the exterior being of some yellow material, very curiously figured, and having fur cuffs, whilst it is lined with a very large quantity of wool’. The other was ‘a robe beautifully made of coloured silks and gold’. (19 May 1863, Sherborne Mercury, p. 4.)
0014 喷泉 旅店 的 所罗门 苏莱 先生 ‘向 Weymouth 博物馆 捐献 了 两 件 很 有趣 的 战利品 . 它们 是 出 自 中国 皇帝 的 圆明园 . . . 一 件 很 不寻常 的 带 图案 的 黄色 大 外袍’ 和 ‘ 一 件 精 美 的 用 有 色 丝绸 和 金 线 制 成 的 皇 袍’。(一 八 六 三 年 五月 十九 日，Sherborne Mercury, 四页.)
( 张小蕾和凯特 · 希尔（Kate Hill）
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0012 For the Colchester Garrison Grand Ball in 1863, the Town Hall was decorated with evergreen and flowers, weapons, and the national colours. The Chelmsford Chronicle reported: ‘The whole was canopied with elegant yellow silk drapery, on which were elaborately-worked dragons, taken during the Chinese war from the Emperor’s Summer Palace at Pekin, and kindly lent for the occasion by Brigade-Major Baldwin ... The principle entrance at the top of the staircase displayed a most magnificent and valuable cloth of gold curtain, with Chinese figures and flowers wrought in floss silk, taken from the royal palace at Pekin, also the property of Major Baldwin, the whole illumined by Chinese lanterns and at the centre of the balcony the royal initials of QV wrought in flowers. The decorations were the work Mr. Josiah Parish, artist, of Colchester." (9 October 1863, Chelmsford Chronicle, p. 3.)
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0016 In January 1864, HM 12th Regiment (2nd Bat.) held an industrial exhibition at the Rotundo in Dublin. Surgeon Birnie displayed his Chinese collection, which included ‘8 fur and embroidered dresses; &c., taken at the capture of the Emperor of China’s Summer Palace, near Pekin, October, 1860’; and ‘4 Jade Stone figures, from the Summer Palace’. (Anonymous, Catalogue of the Industrial Exhibition H.M. Regiment (2nd Battn.) Held at the Rotundo, Dublin 12th January 1864, p. 7.)
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0096 In 1864 the Christ Church Bazaar took place in Leeds. In one stall appeared a ‘carpet brought from the Imperial summer palace of the Emperor of China, by a British officer, present at the sacking of Pekin’. (23 January 1864, Leeds Intelligencer, p. 16.)
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0009 At an 1864 conversazione in Montrose was displayed:
‘a life-sized figure of a Chinese mandarin, clothed in a robe lately brought from the Summer Palace at Pekin. Several other Chinese figures were also ranged around the foot of the hall, the robes of the figures being of the most gorgeous kind’. (29 February 1864, Dundee Courier, p. 4.)
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0102 In 1864, Captain Harrison, R.E., ‘son-in-law of Col. Stanton’, at a lecture ‘on the Chinese’ in Barming, presented: ‘a dressing gown which once belonged to the Emperor himself, and formed part of the “loot” of the Summer Palace’. (5 March 1864, Maidstone Telegraph, p. 3.)
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0097 At the Grand Bazaar in the Cutlers’ Hall to aid Wesleyan Chapel, visitors had ‘an opportunity of inspecting an official robe of the notorious Governor Yeh, from the Summer Palace, Pekin’. (15 June 1864, Sheffield Independent, p. 3.)
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0091 A bazaar to liquidate a church debt was held at Partney in July 1864. A reviewer noted there, "a quilt taken by Lieut. Laurent from the Emperor of China’s summer palace...’ (15 July 1864, Lincolnshire Chronicle, p. 8.)
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0028 The following 59 items were included in the catalogue of Capitaine Negroni’s collection of plunder from the Yuanmingyuan, exhibited at the Crystal Palace in 1865:
p. 42
390. Two embroidered cigar cases.
p. 45
424. An imperial mantle of rich yellow silk, on all parts of which the sacred dragons are beautifully embroidered with silk and gold thread. It has a rainbow border in diagonal stripes.
425. An imperial mantle similar to the above, but in blue silk.
426. A mantle of the same description, in orange silk.
427. A yellow mantle embroidered in yellow satin. It is remarkable for the fineness of the needle-work. It has both winged and five clawed dragons.
428. A similar mantle, in chocolate satin.
429. A piece of yellow satin with stripes of embroidery, in which the imperial dragon is introduced.
430. A piece of beautiful orange China silk.
431. A piece of maroon silk, very rich in colour.
432. A piece of light grey satin.
433. A piece of violet satin.
434. A piece of emerald Chinese crape.
435. do. rose do.
436. do. straw coloured crape.
437. do. white do.
438. do. pale blue silk.
439. do. do. crape.
440. do. do. do.
441. do. pale blue crape.
442. do. dark blue crape.
443. do. sky blue crape.
444. do. black do.
p. 46
445. A piece of white crape.
446. do. rose silk.
447. do. white do.
448. A piece of white Chinese silk.
449. do. do.
450. do. do.
451. A mandarin’s robe, in maize silk.
452. do. in pink silk.
453. do. in green silk.
454. do. in sage green silk.
455. A large blue table cover, beautifully embroidered in silk.
456. A smaller cover, the centre of which is green, with the Imperial dragons embroidered in gold thread; the border is red with blue flowers.
457. A table cover, puce cloth, embroidered with silk.
458. do. blue cloth do. do.
459. do. red cloth do. do.
460. A table cover in orange satin, embroidered with silk and gold thread.
461. One of the Empress’s petticoats in red satin, with black stripes. The imperial dragons and symbolical birds being beautifully embroidered on the border.
462. A petticoat similar to the above.
463. A beautiful imperial mantle, made from the skin of the blue fox.
464. A mantle, composed entirely of white strips taken from the throats of blue foxes. It is calculated that about 400 of these animals must have been killed to obtain fur enough to make this mantle. It is valued at £2000.
465. A mantle, made from the skin of the craylon, or sea dragon. This is a very curious and rare fur, and is worn only by the Empresses of China.
466. A mantle, made from the skins of unborn Astracan kids. The appearance is very peculiar, owing to the fine curl of the hair.
467. An ermine mantle, lined with silk, on which the imperial dragons are embroidered.
468. A craylin mantle, lined with blue satin.
p. 47
469. An Astracan mantle, lined with green satin.
470. A mantle, made of Astracan lamb-skin and the fur of the golden martin. It is lined with blue satin.
471. A craylin mantle, unlined.
472. Sixty ermine skins.
473. A little mantle, made from the heads of Zebuline martins.
474. A cover, made from the skins of black Astracan kids, not lined.
475. A mantle, made from the skins of Tartary goats, not lined.
476. A mantle, made from the skins of the litle brown martin, lined.
477. A mantle, made from the skins of the fauve petit gris, not lined.
478. A large mantle of the same description, only brown.
479. A large mantle from the skins of white foxes.
480. An imperial mantle of the ke-see (see No. 399.) The dragons are worked in gold thread. The colour is what is called imperial yellow; when held up to the light the texture displays an infinity of designs.
481. A mantle similar to the above. There were only two found in the Summer Palace of this descritpion.
482. Three pairs of embroidered shoes.
See Catalogue of Captain de Negroni's Collection of Porcelain, Jade, Jewels, Silks, Furs, Stones, &c., from Yuen-Min-Yuen, (The Summer Palace) Pekin, London: McCorquodale & Co. 1865, pp. 42, 45–47.) The collection was sold through Messrs. Foster in June 1866. (16 June 1866, Birmingham Gazette, p. 4.)
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0094 In August 1866, a bazaar was held at Sanquhar House, Forres. In one stall were banner screens, two or three of which ‘were made from silk taken at the "looting" of the summer palace at Pekin.’ In another stall were ‘some gorgeous specimens of Chinese embroidered cloth, one or two banner screens, and a foot-stool, the covering of which was made from a portion of the Emperor of China’s robe [sic] sofa cushions.’ (31 August 1866, Elgin Courier, p. 8.)
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0024 In 1867 a number of papers reported on the official trial at Portsmouth of an iron-clad ship war, the Lord Clyde. The London Standard wrote:
‘The captain's apartments are tastefully fitted, and contain numerous interesting trophies, relics, articles of vertu, and works of art from China and Japan. In Captain Dew’s cabin are six magnificent specimens of Chinese embroidery in gold-coloured satin of great value. These form the coverings of superbly-carved chairs and lounges; they were pillaged by the Seikhs from the Emperor of China's Summer Palace, and, purchased from a party who bought them from the Seikhs for some spirits, by the present possessor. The cabin is a museum in itself, wherein admirers of Eastern art and Oriental curiosities might easily spend several hours with much gratification.’ (11 February 1867, London Standard, p. 3.)
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0081 An Exhibition of Fine Arts at Brighton, Sussex County, opened on 24 June 1867 in the Brighton Pavilion. Mr J.S. Turner lent:
32 The Private Banner of the Emperor of China, taken at the sack of the Summer Palace.
(Southern Counties’ Association Catalogue of Works of Art and Industry, Exhibited at the New Assembly Rooms, Royal Pavilion Grounds. Brighton, 1867, p. 83.)
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0020 In September 1867 an Exhibition of Art and Industry was held at in the Highland town of Inverness, Scotland. The Inverness Courier reported that the display included: ‘Some splendid specimens of Chinese tapestry taken in the sack of the Emperor of China's summer palace at Pekin’, while ‘rich articles of royal Chinese dress are displayed on a side wall.’ They were most likely among the Chinese works loaned by Mr. Ross of Portland Place, ‘some of them exceedingly rare and curious.’ (19 September 1867, Inverness Courier, p. 5.) Ross was an ex-bailie (alderman) whose son, Alexander Clarke Ross, was an army surgeon attached to the 67th regiment in the 1860 campaign. In 1862 the same paper reported that Dr. Ross had forwarded fabulous spoils to his father:
‘One of the dresses is a robe of the finest silk, elaborately overlaid with gold brocade, worked into a multitude of devices, in which the Imperial Dragon is everywhere conspicuous; it was undoubtably a dress of the Emperor, or one of the Royal Family, as it is distinguished from the dresses of high mandarins and others by ornaments, the use of which was limited to the Emperor and his nearest relatives. The silks, without exception, have the Imperial dragon interwoven in the texture; they are double the ordinary width, and have been valued, we believe, at about a guinea a yard, The chinaware is of the rarest and most costly workanship; in the days when China ornaments, like rare tulips, were objects of an insance fancy, no price would have been grudged for the splendid loot which Dr. Ross secured at Pekin. (16 January 1862, Inverness Courier, p. 5.)
The background research on the Ross loan is © Kate Hill, Yuanmingyuan Artefact Index, 2016.
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0143 In 1870, a woman named Mary Ann May, who had been employed as a domestic servant in the household of Col. Leward at Farnam in 1869, was charged with ‘stealing a stuffed bird for a hat, some lace, a quantity of plush, a necktie, and seven yards of Chinese ribbon, which came from the Emperor’s Summer Palace at Pekin, the property of Miss Susan Leward...’ After the presentation of evidence before the court, she was acquitted. (26 March 1870, Surrey Comet, p. 3.) 26 February 2016.
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0150 During the Franco-Prussian war, General August Karl Von Goeben occupied the residence of M. Dubos in the Rue Neuve, Amiens. In the drawing room a reporter noted the walls painted in panels of white and gold, and:
‘magnificent hangings of Chinese tapestry which covered the large squares between the panels—these, by the way, are said to have been brought from the Summer Palace of Pekin and to have been presented to the proprietor by Count Palikao himself’. (25 January 1871, Daily Telegraph and Courier [London], p. 5.) 26 February 2016.
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0154 When a bal masque took place at Brighton in 1872, Captain C.F. Dashwood, ‘whose robes were part of the spoils taken from the Summer Palace of Pekin’, appeared as ‘his Celestial Majesty the Emperor of China’. (31 January 1872, Morning Post, p. 3.) 26 February 2016.
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0158 A review of a shoe exhibition at the Leicester Museum in 1873 stated that: ‘Some fairy like ladies’ shoes, “looted” from the Summer Palace, Pekin, attract attention, but the model of a foot accompanying them shows how fearfully distorted that member must be to find accommodation within such narrow limits.’ (19 September 1873, Leicester Journal, p. 8.) 26 February 2016.
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0165 During the Advent season of 1875, the International Gun and Polo Club gave a fancy-dress ball at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. A newspaper report on the soirée noted:
‘Amongst the dresses worthy of being particularised was that of an Empress of China, worn by the wife of a distinguished military officer, and which possessed the more value that it had been looted from the Summer Palace at Pekin...’ (3 December 1875, London Evening Standard, p. 3.) 26 February 2016.
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0172 In 1874 a volunteers’ bazaar was held at St. Leonards Assembly Room to defray costs of a drill shed for the St. Leonards Artillery Volunteers. A reporter noted the many appealing objects in the art exhibition, concluding:
‘Mr. Maclean’s collection, however, was the chief centre of attraction, he exhibiting some costly articles formerly belonging to the Emperor of China, and which were taken from the summer palace at Pekin. First and foremost came a splendid gold watch inlaid with diamonds, and valued at 2000 guineas, which was presented to the former Emperor of China by Napoleon I., a necklace of jaspar, as worn by a Mandarin of the highest class; two of the Emperor’s seals, an exquisitely carved rhinoceros’s horn, beautifully carved ivory book cover, and an Imperial quilt, formed of ivory shavings, and lined with royal damask.’ (24 October 1874, Hastings and St. Leonard Observer, p. 7.) [0172 also listed under jewelry, rhinoceros horn, seals and ivory.] 26 February 2016.
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0174 At the Portsmouth Exhibition of Cottage Industry and Plants was displayed a ‘patchwork, the centre being a piece of a Mandarin’s dress taken among the loot from the Emperor of China’s Summer Palace in Pekin, by Miss Harrison...’ (16 August 1876, Hampshire Telegraph, p. 2.) 26 February 2016.
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0178 When a Grand Fancy Dress Ball took place at the Regent Hotel in 1878, the Leamington Spa Courier detailed the costumes of those present, including:
‘Colonel Dunne—Taou-Kwancj, Emperor of China—1821—1850. Dress taken by the wearer from the Summer Palace, near Pekin in 1860.’ (26 January 1878, Leamington Spa Courier, p. 4.) Presumably, this was John Hart Dunne of the Wiltshire Regiment, who wrote of looting textiles at the Yuanmingyuan in his memoir From Calcutta to Pekin. 26 February 2016.
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0180 In 1879 Messrs. Woodhams & Son at St. Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, offered for auction the contents of a private home, which included ‘silk needlework screens from the summer palace, Pekin...’ (28 December 1878, Hastings and St Leonards Observer, p. 4.) 26 February 2016.
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0184 When ‘An Exhibition of Works of Art, Needlework, Paintings, Drawings, etc., etc. ’ took place at Shire Hall, Hertford, in 1880, Mr. Charles Butler of Warren Wood displayed a ‘Jade engraved cup, from Summer Palace’ and Mrs. Morris, Much Hadham, loaned ‘a yellow satin embroidered dress of the Empress of China, taken at the Summer Palace... ’ (9 October 1880, Hertford Mercury and Reformer, p. 3.) [0184 also listed under jade.]
Uploaded 26 February 2016.
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0189 When the Chester Society of Natural Science held their Annual Exhibition & Conversazione at the town hall, J.B. Taylor showed ‘a Flint and Steel Pouch, found in the Summer Palace, Pekin...’ (30 September 1882, Cheshire Observer, p. 5.)
Uploaded 26 February 2016.
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0192 When the Royal Irish School of Art mounted a loan exhibition at Lisle House in 1884, ‘a very rich chairback of richly embroidered yellow satin from the summer palace near Pekin’ was contributed by Lieutenant-Colonel Yeatman Biggs. (9 February 1884, Dublin Daily Express, p. 5.) 26 February 2016.
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0196 In the spring of 1885 a loan exhibition took place at the Town Hall, Leamington Spa, to raise funds for the Girls’ Friendly Society. On display were three items taken from the Yuanmingyuan:
‘the Emperor of China’s state ottoman, taken from his summer palace at Pekin on the capture of that city by allied French and English troops, lent by Major Edlmann’; ‘a Chinese Mandarin’s robe, “looted” from the Summer Palace at Pekin by the King’s Dragoon Guards in 1860, lent by Major Edlmann’; and ‘a piece of Beauvais tapestry (10ft. by 12ft.), worked in colours, which was lent by Mrs. Greathed through Lady Mary Fielding. This magnificent and artistic piece of workmanship is supposed to have been sent by Louis 15th of France to the Emperor of China, and was brought away from the Summer Palace, at Pekin, it being one of the three piece [sic] found there when the Palace was destroyed by the English and French armies in 1860, when was found attached to it a card, the seven of spades, upon the back of which was written Tenture le Roy.’ (30 May 1885, Leamington Spa Courier, p. 6.) 26 February 2016.
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0209 When an industrial exhibition took place under the auspices of the Linlithgow Horticultural Society in 1887, Miss Helen Baillie of Manuel House sent among other articles, ‘a fur case from the Summer Palace, Pekin... ’ (24 August 1887, Falkirk Herald, p. 5.) 26 February 2016.
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0212 A review of the Knaresborough Jubilee Exhibition in the Knaresborough Town Hall, 1887, noted:
‘General Gunter’s collection of objects from the Summer Palace, Pekin, in themselves make the Exhibition worthy of a visit. They include the cover of a cushion, embroidered with the Imperial five-clawed dragon, taken from the Emperor’s throne, Imperial robes, coats, shoes, silver bangles, idols, flags, and many other things. Dr. McSheehy, who was with General Gunther at Pekin, contributes a handsome lady’s toilet box, with the Imperial dragons engraved on the lid, and three chimney ornaments, showing the ancient style of enamelling on copper, also from the Summer Palace.’ (1 December 1887, Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, p. 6.)
The York Herald was enthusiastic: ‘Amongst more modern exhibits, we come across unique trophies from the Summer Palace at Pekin, exhibited by Gen. Gunter and Dr. McSheehy, who both served in the King’s Dragoon Guards in the Chinese war...’ (29 November 1887, York Herald, p. 6.) 26 February 2016.
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0215 When the Band of Hope Competition and Exhibition took place in St Boswells, 1888, on display was ‘a piece of Chinese embroidery from the Summer Palace at Pekin...’ (28 June 1888, Southern Reporter, p. 3.) 26 February 2016.
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0135 When the St. James’ Temperance Association held a Loan and Industrial Exhibition in early 1890, ‘A very fine shawl, taken from the summer palace of the Emperor of China, was lent by Colonel Rideout... ’ (3 January 1890, Dover Express, p. 5.) 26 February 2016.
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0234 At the Old Trafford Conservative Club, Manchester, an exhibition took place in 1893, which included: ‘a Chinese teapot, chopsticks, and a pair of shoes (seized during the sacking of the Summer Palace of the Emperor of China in 1860).’ (‘Interesting Exhibition at the Old Trafford Conservative Club’, Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, 18 January 1893, p. 8.) [also listed under ceramics and wood.] 26 February 2016.
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0235 On Easter Monday, 1863, a hospital benefit was held at the Holyhead Institute in Holyhead, Wales. Dr. Bentham, of H.M.S. Neptune contributed: ‘many beautiful Chinese embroideries from the Summer Palace at Pekin. (‘Home Arts Exhibition at Holyhead’, 15 April 1893, North Wales Chronicle, p. 3.) 26 February 2016.
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0236 In the spring of 1893, Madame Tussaud’s exhibition in London featured ‘some Chinese Imperial robes captured at the Summer Palace in Pekin in 1860.’ (23 May 1893, Morning Post, p. 2.) 26 February 2016.
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0246 In 1896 the Hastings and St Leonards Observer recorded the annual meeting of the Hastings Museum Association. According to their report, the Hon. Secretary, Mr. W.V. Crake, B.A., noted that in 1895 ‘a remarkable collection of enamels, bronzes, and State robes from the Summer Palace at Pekin was lent by Mr. Ashby, C.B.’ for display in the museum. (22 August 1896, Hastings and St Leonards Observer, p. 6.) [0246 also listed under enamels and metalwork] 26 February 2016.
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0248 A story on the Countess of Annesley appeared in 1896. This reported that her home, Castlewellan: ‘held many curiosities. One of the portières is made from a gown worn by the Empress of China, and taken from the Summer Palace. It is of dark silk, embroidered with butterflies. (17 April 1896, Dover Express, p. 3.) 26 February 2016.
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0253 A short notice on recent ‘Book and Curio Sales’ appeared in the Glasgow Herald in 1899. This reported that:
‘A fine panel of old Gobelins tapestry found by Lieutenant-Colonel Hope Crealock in the island Summer Palace near Pekin in October, 1860, was sold this afternoon by Messrs Christie. It represents a jungle scene in Asia, and is signed “Jans;” and the superintendant of the Gobelins Factory has certified that it was one of the first pieces made there, “Jans” having been chef d’atelier circa 1664. The fine panel made £630.’ (4 March 1899, Glasgow Herald, p. 7.)
Apparently, the tapestry was sold again the next year. Another short article on recent ‘Book and Curio Sales’ appeared in the Glasgow Herald in 1900. This reported the sale at Christie’s of:
‘a fine piece of old Gobelins tapestry, representing Asia, a jungle scene in brilliant colours, signed Jans, found by Lieut.-Colonel Hope Crealock, military secretary to the Earl of Elgin, in the Island of the Summer Palace, near Pekin, October, 1860, £315. The superintendant of the Gobelins factory has certified that this was one of the first tapestries ever made here, Herr Jans being chef d’atelier about the year 1664, and it was sent as a present from Louis the Fifteenth to the Emperor Kien Lung. It is of fine quality, and forms part of the four Continent series.’ (4 July 1900, Glasgow Herald, p. 7.) 26 February 2016.
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0019 A silk k’o-ssu tapestry in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, depicts the arrival of a planetarium and celestial globe at the Yuanmingyuan, according to the museum’s catalogue. The subject is taken from the history of the Earl of Macartney’s embassy to China in 1793. On that occasion, the British carried numerous gifts of scientific instruments and industrial products to the Yuanmingyuan in order to convince the Chinese to open their ports to British products. George Staunton in his memoir of the embassy discussed the assembly of a planetarium in the Hall of Audience at the imperial estate:
‘The adjustment of the planetarium could not be completed before the departure of the Embassador for Tartary; and Dr. Dinwiddie was left behind in order to inspect that nice and necessary work. Other gentlemen and attendants of the Embassy remained also on various accounts at the Yuen-min-yuen ...
His Excellency [editor: Earl Macartney] understood, indeed, that some proposal for his departure, would soon be expected; and that at the Yuen-min-yuen, the persons left there to adjust the nice machines, brought out as presents, were urged to finish their work, lest they should be left incomplete. Dr. Dinwidde continued almost constantly there, to direct the workmen in putting together the various complicated parts of the Planetarium ... He had frequently the opportunity of observing there the ingenuity and dexterity of the Chinese workmen ... Another Chinese cut a narrow slip from the edge of a curved plate of glass in order to supply the place of one belonging to the dome of the Planetarium, which had been broken in the carriage. The English mechanics belonging to the Embassy had in vain attempted to cut the glass according to this curve line, with the assistance of a diamond. The native workman did not show his method; but it was said that he succeeded, by first drawing the point of a heated iron across the surface to be divided.’ (G. Staunton, An authentic account of an embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China, vol. ii; London: G. Nicol, 1797; pp. 165, 287–88.)
In light of this account, the artist’s notion that the planetarium was carried through the grounds of the estate is fanciful. Furthermore, the National Maritime Museum has identified the two gifts as equipment from the Astronomical Observatory, Beijing.
According to museum records, the tapestry was donated in 1934 by Sir James Caird, who purchased it at Spink on 5 May 1933. Although previously given the tentative date of 1793, recent study of the tapestry at the museum has led curators to date the piece to the early decades of the 20th century. [Inv. no. TXT0107, Caird Collection, Dimensions: 1215 x 1600 x 48 mm. Available online at: http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/70922.html]
Why and where the object was made, and by whom, remain open questions.
I would like to thank Sue Prichard, Senior Curator of Decorative Arts, Royal Museums Greenwich, for communicating to me this vital information on provenance and dating of the tapestry.
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0116 At The Wardrobe, The 99th (Lanarkshire) Regimental Museum, is a yellow robe with the imperial dragon. A label identifies the garment as: ‘Embroidered silk robe which once belonged to the Emperor of China. Taken from the Imperial Palace by Captain Henry Ely of the 99th Regiment.’ Captain Ely was stationed in Pekin with the 99th. This was also the regiment of the irrepressible Captain John Hart Dunne, who published his campaign journals in From Calcutta to Pekin. Dunne recalled looting of textiles at the Summer Palace with another officer: ‘we had to content ourselves with about three hundred pieces of embroidered silk, each about the size of one cushion, and beautifully worked, which have since sold for about seventy pounds.’ (J.H. Dunne, From Calcutta to Pekin, Being Notes Taken from the Journal of an Officer Between Those Places. London: Sampson Low, Son, and Co., 1861, pp. 132–33.)
The robe has attributes of an imperial jifu, or semi-formal court robe. A five-clawed dragon writhes on the chest, encircling a shou medallion, symbol of good fortune. Red bats, representing many blessings, fly among scrolling clouds, embroidered in five colours, in accordance with rules of imperial dress. Emblems of imperial authority flank the central dragon. The eight buddhist treasures, including the rectangular gold ornament, coral and musical stone; and the eight secular treasures, such as the coin and scroll, can be seen among the waves and clouds. Auspicious swastikas dance on the waves, or li shui, which represent the watery realm from which the earth rises.
While the style and quality of the embroidery is in keeping with the customs of imperial dress; the finishing of the garment with collar and cuffs is not in keeping with Qing court style. One explanation is that Captain Ely took an uncut robe from the Yuanmingyuan and that it was tailored for display at a later date by someone unfamiliar with the cut of court dress. © Katrina Hill, 2016.
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All material on this page, unless otherwise credited, was produced by Kate Hill, who asserts her authorship of the work. © Kate Hill, Yuanmingyuan Artefact Index, 2016.