Page 194 - A Re-examination of Late Qing Dynasty Porcelain, 1850-1920 THESIS

establishes that porcelain objects were sold and loaned from the imperial collection.

Therefore, the late Qing era marks the point at which the first porcelain from the imperial

collection can be traced out of China and directly into the Western market. 248 While it is

difficult to track each specific porcelain ware, this study has found that modern British

collections include examples with provenance suggesting that the objects were purchased

from the imperial collection. Under the organization of the Imperial Household

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Department, sales of imperial porcelain took place during the late 19 and early 20
centuries, which likely explains how these objects came to reside in British collections. It

is clear that from this point in time, imperial-quality porcelain was shipped to the West

either as a result of looting or of sales used to finance Qing rule within China. 249 Both of

these outcomes resulted in imperial-caliber porcelain with a strong provenance exiting

China and joining well-established British collections.

Along with these sales, events occurring within England led to Chinese porcelain

being exposed to the masses. London’s Great Exhibition of 1851 introduced the general

population to an array of Chinese porcelain. 250 Unlike previous porcelain introductions,

millions of people viewed this exhibition, creating more rapid exposure to the medium.

Documentation of the Great Exhibition of 1851, held at the Crystal Palace, is widely

available within the British Library. The Great Exhibition displayed Chinese decorative

arts. It is critical to note that many of these items had been collected by merchants and

248 Other wares were given prior to this point in time as gifts by rulers or were looted objects.
This marks the first major grouping of items to be purchased in the Western world that can trace
their provenance to the original Qing imperial porcelain collection.
249 Members of the imperial family sold a variety of objects in auctions throughout the late Qing
era. For further information, see The Remarkable Collection of the Imperial Prince Kung of
China. New York: American Art Galleries auction catalog, 1913.
250 Yvonne Ffrench, The Great Exhibition: 1851 (London: Harvill Press, 1950).

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