Vat thumbnail 1
Vat thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Vat

Place of origin

Pair of vats, cloisonne enamel on copper, the outside decorated with lotuses and birds.


Object details

Object type
Materials and techniques
Cloisonne enamel on copper
Brief description
Vat made of cloisonne enamel on copper, one of a pair, Qing dynasty
Physical description
Pair of vats, cloisonne enamel on copper, the outside decorated with lotuses and birds.
Dimensions
  • Height: 22.5in
  • Diameter: 27in
Object history
Purchased from Professor Stockbauer (Nuremberg), accessioned in 1876. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.
According to the original acquisition record in the museum's archive, the object came from 'the Summer Palace, Pekin', which refers to the imperial summer retreat Yuanming Yuan, north of Beijing, which was was plundered and destroyed by British and French troops during the Second Opium War in 1860. Whether this object came from the Yuanming Yuan is impossible to verify, and the archive papers do not explain how it came to be in Germany.
Subjects depicted
Collection
Accession number
254-1876

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
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