Fragment of architectural ornament, earthenware with turquoise-blue glaze, China, 1747-70

Fragment of an architectural ornament, buff-coloured earthenware covered with turquoise-blue glaze, moulded to form a stylized shell.

Collected in Beijing, China by Mr. Wylde, shipped to the UK via S. M. Franck & Co.,accessioned in 1912.

This architectural fitting is part of a group of objects acquired by C. H. Wylde in China in 1911-12. Wylde was the first Keeper of Ceramics and the first member of V&A staff to visit East Asia (China and Korea). In the archive file, Wylde notes the ‘six fragments of architectural decoration from the Old Summer Palace, or Yuan Ming Yuan, which is about 10 miles from Pekin’ and states that ‘these are very interesting as they are the work of craftsmen employed by the French Jesuit Missionaries who were entrusted with the work of building the palace by the emperor Khang-his (Kangxi, 1662-1722). The fragments strongly show the influence of the style of Louis XIV’ (MA/2/P7/5 Purchases by the officers on visits abroad, Part 5, 1902-1954; PR 1912/2293 M). The Yuanming Yuan was the imperial summer palace and was plundered and destroyed by British and French troops during the Second Opium War in 1860. This object would have been from the European-style buildings in the Yuanming Yuan. In his travel report, Wylde notes that on January 3, 1912: "I was able to secure a few fragments sufficiently large to show the style of the decoration," which indicates that he collected the pieces from the ruins on site (ED84/206 Official Visits Abroad).

This ceramic fragment with a turquoise-blue glaze was once part of an architectural ornament showing a band of decoration in relief. It was purchased by C. H. Wylde in China in 1912 as a fragment from the Old Summer Palace, Yuanming Yuan, Beijing. It most likely came from one of the European-style palaces in Yuanming Yuan. These buildings were designed by Italian and French Jesuits working at the Qing court. The Qianlong emperor, who ruled China from 1736 to 1795, had a great fascination for western ‘exotica’. Yuanming Yuan was destroyed by British and French troops during the Second Opium War in 1860 and all that now remains of the splendid buildings are scattered ruins and architectural fragments such as this.

C.378-1912