A complete set of prints of the Yuanmingyuan Paris, Jardin de Flore, 1977
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209*
A complete set of prints of the Yuanmingyuan
Paris, Jardin de Flore, 1977
Comprising twenty prints, each ornately depicting Western-style palaces from within the Yuanmingyuan, inscribed with the name of the palace and location and the numerical sequence, framed and glazed.
87.8cm x 50cm (34½in x 19¾in) (20).
Sold for £14,400 inc. premium

Footnotes

  • Provenance: Jacqueline Delubac, Paris

    The present set of prints was reproduced in 1977 as a limited edition of 250 copies from the original 1786 edition of copper-plate engravings, commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor.

    The Qianlong Emperor realised his vision of a new European-style palace with the construction of the Yuanmingyuan (Garden of Perfect Brightness), designed by the Jesuits Giuseppe Castiglione and Michel Benoist. During the height of the Emperor's reign (1736-1795), the Yuanmingyuan was part of an architectural complex which boasted a sheer grandeur of over 320 hectares of land, more than ten times larger than the entire precinct of the Forbidden City. These grounds were known as the 'three hills and five gardens' because they comprised the Yuanmingyuan, Changchunyuan and Qingyiyuan on Longevity Hill; the Jingmingyuan on Jade Fountain Hill; and the Jiyuyuan on the Fragrant Hills.

    The Qianlong Emperor so adored the Yuanmingyuan that from his reign onwards, the Imperial Court moved to the Yuanmingyuan every year after the Spring Festival (Lunar New Year) and resided there until the sixth month when the heat set in.

    These key locations and architectural marvels are depicted in the present 20 engravings.

Category: Asian Art / Chinese Works of Art

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