Art.view: China syndrome Nov 8, 2009
An elaborately carved jade brush pot from the emperor Qianlong s reign, which had been in the same British collection for more than 50 years, should have had collectors fighting over it ... In celebration of his 80th birthday in 1791, the emperor Qianlong had a number of seals made, of which this is one of the biggest on record. (The Economist)
Auction of relics angers public Nov 6, 2009
An imperial jade seal, owned by the Qing Dynasty Emperor Qianlong, who ruled China from 1736 to 1795, fetched 3. 6 million pounds ($5. (Xinhuanet, China)
Art.view: Homeward bound Sep 30, 2009
Sep 26th 2009From Economist. Buoyed by bidding from South-East Asia, the market for Chinese fine art is booming. (The Economist)
The strange tale of a Chinese emperor's French prints Mar 28, 2009
Works from a collection of Emperor Qianlong's prints include an etching reworked with burin by Jean-Denis Attire ... From 1755 to 1759, the army sent by Emperor Qianlong (1735-1796) fought a tough war to conquer Mongol lands and, further west, the vast territories of the Uighurs in Turkistan, now called Xinjiang. (International Herald Tribune)
Art.view: Bull for a night Mar 1, 2009
The range of goods on offer from the collection of Yves Saint Laurent, a fashion designer who died in June 2008, and his partner Pierre Berg; was enormous stellar examples of modern painting and Art Deco furniture, gaudy but highly collectible German silver, enamel Limoges plates once owned by Givenchy, cameo miniatures, life-size Roman torsos, and, to the dismay of the Chinese government, two bronze animal heads from the zodiac fountain of Emperor Qianlong s summer palace in Beijing. More than... (The Economist)
China tightens control on Christie's Feb 26, 2009
We are glad to see the reactions of the government and public," he said. The two bronze sculptures, representing the heads of a rabbit and a rat, were among 12 animal head sculptures that formed a zodiac-themed water clock decorating the Calm Sea Pavilion in the Old Summer Palace of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795) in Beijing. They were looted when the palace was burned down by Anglo-French allied forces during the Second Opium War in 1860. So far, five of the 12 bronze animal heads have been... (Xinhuanet, China)
China fails to halt sale of looted relics at Paris auction Feb 26, 2009
The fountain was built for the imperial gardens of the Old Summer Palace during the reign of Emperor Qianlong in the 18th century. According to Rosemary Scott, an Asian art expert at Christie's, the Chinese built "European palaces" in part of the park that were designed by European Jesuit missionaries employed by the Chinese court; the same missionaries designed the fountain, which consisted of a huge marble shell and the bronze animal heads on clothed human bodies carved in stone. (International Herald Tribune)
Chinese gov't writes to Christie's seeking to stop auction Feb 25, 2009
The heads were among 12 animal head sculptures that formed the zodiacal clepsydra decorating the Calm Sea Pavilion in the Old Summer Palace of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795) in Beijing. They were looted when the palace was burned down by Anglo-French allied forces during the Second Opium War in 1860. (Xinhuanet, China)
