Textile hanging, velvet with dragon design, China, Qing dynasty, 1644-1888

Wall or door-hanging, velvet, woven in colours with a dragon and pearl among clouds above waves in the centre, forming a circle, and surrounded by dragons, flowers, and clouds. Narrow border of fret pattern, and wider outer border carrying out the general design.

Purchased from Siegfried Bing (Paris), accessioned in 1888. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.
The V&A purchased this hanging from the noted Paris-based art dealer Siegfried Bing. According to the register the hanging is 'said to have been taken at the Summer Palace, Pekin'. However, there is no reference to this provenance in the correspondence between the museum and Bing in relation to the acquisition of the object. The Summer Palace, or Yuanming Yuan, was the imperial summer retreat located north of Beijing, which was plundered and destroyed by British and French troops during the Second Opium War in 1860.

12-1888