print BM-1928-0815-0.9.5

Period:Qing dynasty Production date:1770
Materials:paper
Technique:engraving
Subjects:audience/assembly feast/banquet history emperor/empress
Dimensions:Height: 51.30 centimetres (sheet; trimmed) Width: 89 centimetres (sheet; trimmed)

Description:
Plate 16; Victory banquet for the officers and soldiers who had distinguished themselves; Emperor Qianlong about to preside over a victory banquet for officers and soldiers who had distinguished themselves during the campaigns in East Turkestan; in the foreground to right the Emperor is borne in a litter in a procession moving towards the Ziguangge, a building in the gardens of the Imperial Palace at Peking (Beijing); in the middle ground, a large yurt and behind it, servants preparing food; to left, a large group of defeated rebels, shown kneeling to the left, who attended the event, while to right, court officials, some kneeling; in the distance to right, Marble Bridge and the Baita (White Pagoda) Etching with engraving, on European paper mounted with a fillet; inscription; two seals.
IMG


Comments:Victory banquet for the officers and soldiers who had distinguished themselvesKaiyan chenggong zhu jiangshi 凱宴成功諸將士 Pl. 16 from a set of 16 prints recording the Qianlong emperor’s East Turkestan campaignEngraved by Jackques-Phiippe Le Bas under the direction of Charles-Nicolas Cochin fils after a drawing by Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining)1770, ParisEtching with engraving from copperplate on European paper; mounted with a filletThis print is one of the impressions printed from the original French copper plates, which were sent to China. The plate was engraved by Jacques Philippe Le Bas in 1770, and according to Pirazzoli-T’Serstevens (1969), is after a drawing by Giuseppe Castiglione. This impression however, has an inscription traditionally regarded as in the Emperor Qianlong’s own handwriting style. See Binyon, BMQ.One of the celebrations marking the successful conclusion of the East Turkestan campaign was a ritual banquet for officers and soldiers who had distinguished themselves in action. The image shows the Emperor, his head depicted larger than those of the other figures, carried in a litter in a procession. They are moving towards an enormous yurt behind which is the Ziguange (Pavilion of Purple Splendour), a pavilion in the centre of Peking, reconstructed in 1760 by the Qianlong Emperor into a memorial hall of fame. Here military art (including the sixteen original paintings of events and one hundred portraits of the meritorious officials of the East Turkestan victories) was displayed along with trophies, and foreign tributaries were received. A large group of defeated rebels, shown kneeling to the left, and attended the celebrations. In the distance to right are the Baita (White Pagoda) and Marble Bridge.Inscribed on the verso of the mount in a later hand “Paris series no.16″Published: Printed Image in China (2010)