Page 169 - Collecting and Displaying China's Summer Palace in the West

154 Greg M. Thomas
on view, he first emphasizes that the monumental cloisonné vessels prove China is
still producing great art. He accurately notes that such large pieces are only made for
emperors and translates the reign mark (da qing qian long nian zhi, visible on the
gold lip of the altar vases) indicating they belonged to the Qianlong emperor. Stressing
the collection’s museological rather than military worth, he also says labels on the
objects demonstrate the “curators” of the Yuanmingyuan “museum” are highly pro -
fessional. As a further example, he cites repair labels on a “Buddhist bracelet” given
to him by an officer, with beads depicting kusha grass “used in Buddhist ceremonies.”
Such religious recognition recurs when he says the stupa has “a long Buddhist inscrip -
tion” in Sanskrit. 13
Pauthier’s aesthetic assessments were reflected in monetary terms four years later,
in an important appraisal of the Chinese Museum dated August 30, 1865. 14 Listing
418 lots, it names the appraising “expert” as Mr. Malinet, a renowned dealer spe -
cializing in Chinese art who built a remarkable collection of Asian porcelain. 15
He estimates the collection’s total value—now including loot from the army, gifts
from the Thai embassy, and objects purchased or transferred from elsewhere—at
1,808,129.50 francs. Over a third of this comes from just four lots, all cloisonné
altar objects (Figure 10.1):

no. 324, one large tripod cloisonné “vase,” 150,000 francs
no. 325, two hexagonal cloisonné incense burners, 250,000
no. 326, two large cloisonné candlesticks, 150,000
no. 327, two large cloisonné vases, 150,000

As the list does not recognize nos. 324, 326, and 327 as forming a five-piece altar
set, it seems the enormous value of these seven pieces derives not from their religious
function but from their rarity and perceived aesthetic significance, as promoted by
Pauthier. Indeed, it seems they helped set off the collecting of Chinese cloisonné
in Europe. 16 Next in value are the stupa (no. 336, 100,000) and the ewers and
basin in cloisonné, enamel, and gold (no. 376, 100,000), then the Thai gold crown
(no. 190, 70,000), one square cloisonné incense burner (no. 328, 60,000), and the
circular mandala in gold adorned with pearls, turquoise, and coral (no. 145, 35,000).
The most politically potent item—the dragons (no. 331)—are valued at only 10,000
francs, with all porcelain and crystal vessels ranking lower. Such an accounting
devalues the collection’s military and political significance, marginalizes the religious
nature of its star objects, and keys its value to artistic criteria and the price of
gold. 17
All of this discourse helps us understand the parameters through which Eugénie
could make sense of her collection but also, more importantly, the surprising ways
in which she both skirted and exceeded that discourse’s limits. Most important, her
display design suppressed the political and religious meanings highlighted in the
Tuileries exhibition. As the army intended, the armor, weapons, and ruyi went to
Napoleon III, who placed them in the artillery museum, leaving the dragons the only
prominent political emblem. The cloisonné vessels dominate Eugénie’s display—
which she personally arranged—yet their scattered positions and conversion into lamps
erased their original function. I have found no indication she ever read or wrote about
Buddhism, but her staunch Catholicism suggests she would have shared Barthélemy’s
hostile view.