Page 74 - Sotheby's Hong Kong Important Chinese Works of Art, Oct. 9, 2022

A RARE IMPERIAL PEEPSHOW

The mirror introduces the dualism of illusion and reality. The Qianlong Emperor was known to be a fan of mixing
The psychological phenomenon of seeing one’s own influences from the notional East and West, and the
reflected image apart from the self is an idea that plays historical strand linked to this rare cabinet shows the
out in folklore and allegory as perhaps the unearthly duality of these worlds. The Emperor reigned over a period
projection of innermost desires, a glimpse into the soul, of great prosperity, fostering the development of science,
or a manifestation of the true ‘I’. Consider this imperial art and culture to their height. European missions to the
18th-century “peepshow” mirror cabinet, which was possibly Qianlong Emperor would bring tributes of previously unseen
commissioned in 1752, the very type of unusual plaything exotic objects, including optical, musical or mechanical
which the Qianlong Emperor was particularly fond of. We can instruments. The invention of the so-called “peepshow box”
imagine that when the Qianlong Emperor first approached has been credited to the Italian cryptographer Leon Battista
this Western-technology inspired optical device, he would Alberti in the 15th-century, and the novelty device reached
have encountered a portrait of his double – a looking-glass its popularity in Europe during the 17th century. Through an
Emperor conjured through the use of reflections, light and enclosed cabinet, painted two-dimensional images may be
shadow. viewed in a way that simulates three-dimensional reality by
The greatest number of imperial portraits were enhancing the viewer’s sense of the depth. The illusion is
commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor during the Qing created through lenses, mirrors and layering of flat painted
dynasty (1644–1911), and one possible explanation for panels. Having been presented with such a wondrous device,
his fascination with seeing his own realistic depictions the Qianlong Emperor perhaps desired to possess his own
was that he was “repeatedly challenging the boundary version with adapted design elements and themes executed
between illusion and reality.” (Kristina Kleutghen, ‘One or by artisans of the imperial court.
Two, Repictured’, Archives of Asian Art, vol. 62, 2012, pp. Few peepshow cabinets of the time have survived, and an
25-46). In our brief imagining of the Emperor as he sees his example of this calibre and quality is a rarity. This work
own image within the cabinet, it calls to mind the Lacanian reflects the changing taste of the court which welcomed the
“mirror stage” which describes a formative moment of our intersection of design elements from diverse origins. The
conscious development when we first become aware of cabinet is made of agarwood (chenxiangmu) and features
ourselves in relation to the inner and outer worlds. ornately carved dragons with a western mercury mirror
As the Emperor gazes upon his reflection through the set. Because agarwood is so precious, artisans tend to use
looking glass, he may notice a discreet eyehole to the right the material sparingly, often joined with some other type of
of his other self. If he were to peer inside, he would discover wood. A whole cabinet made from this rare wood is a rare
his own image – a portrait within a portrait of himself. The find indeed. Only one other optical toy piece like this one
peephole vignette reveals the Qianlong Emperor in the garb appears to have been recorded. A closely related agarwood
of a Song dynasty scholar and pictured amidst ancient mirror cabinet with two peepshow slits shows a Western
objects of contemplation. cityscape and a maritime scene respectively (see below).
This rare item was likely restricted to a small circle in the
The image refers to a theatrical design set based on One imperial court.
or Two? – a series of five imperial portraits of the Qianlong
Emperor (figs 1 and 2). The portraits are informal but The mystery of this cabinet might reveal an intention far
elaborate, depicting the Qianlong Emperor in slightly deeper than a novelty of mirrors. We can imagine the
different scenes, each featuring him as the subject with a unsettling effect experienced by Qianlong Emperor as he
portrait of himself within the setting. The five portraits from saw his image reflected back as spectacle – a subversive
the series are held in the Palace Museum in Beijing, and relativity of illusion and reality. As the gaze moves back
the image from optical mirror cabinet resembles them. The across the mirror and to the left, there is another eyehole
name “One or Two?” comes from inscriptions by the hand of which opens to a sublime landscape or a manifestation of
the Emperor which accompany the works within the series; a dream. Perhaps it is a vision that projects the Qianlong
the sixteen-character poems vary for each of the portraits, Emperor forward in anticipation of a paradise beyond.
however they all open with the titular question: “Is it one or
two?” (This essay was written with thanks to David Ho for his
We may ask ourselves what the Qianlong Emperor meant by contribution and ideas to the piece.)
“it” – that is, beyond the most obvious explanation: the self-
referential nature of the dual portraits. One interpretation is
that his question is a challenge, to understand the nature of
the internal and external self which flutters within the liminal
space between dream and reality.

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