Friday and an outing...
Today was miserable again, but there was no rain, so that was good (20C/68F). Mr Cee had taken the day off and we went to London to see the exhibition: China's Hidden Century and also another exhibition: Luxury and Power: Persia to Greece at The British Museum.
It was absolutely HEAVING with people in the Museum. So many tourist parties (and school visits) and lots and lots of Chinese people who came to see the China exhibition. Fortunately, there were timed tickets, so it wasn't too bad once we were in the exhibition room.
There were some lovely things in China's Hidden Century exhibition which covered the years from 1796 and 1912, beautiful drawings, clothing, and artefacts - we spent 90 minutes wandering around enjoying it all. Under the cut for some photos of things that caught my eye (many are worth making bigger).
Qing China was multi-ethnic and multilingual. This dictionary comprises over 2,500 pages in five languages: Manchu, Tibetan, Mongolian, vernacular Chagatai or Eastern Turki, and Chinese. The pages displayed are giving translations of various foods.
Snuff bottles!
The relevant Emperors in the exhibition:
Imperial blue robe. There are nine gold dragons on this robe and 12 imperial symbols (the sun, moon, constellations, mountains, dragons, a pheasant, ritual cups with tigers, water weed, millet, fire and axe and a 'fu' symbol). The Emperors were believed to control the universe.
Hair and body ornaments were given to celebrate special celebrations such as weddings, birthdays etc.
This hairpin contains kingfisher feathers.
These are fingernail guards to protect the long nail on the little finger in gold filigree.
Manchu women wore full-length robes while Han women wore jackets and skirts. This is a court robe decorated with butterflies (a symbol of longevity). It was owned by Der Ling (1881-1944) a lady in waiting for Cixi who was a courtier in the Forbidden City.
Cixi was a wonderful artist herself:
Glass! This is a very similar technique used by Emile Gallé in the Art Nouveau era. Colourless glass with white 'inclusions' is blown into a bottle shape. Then it is overlayed with copper/red glass. The red glass is then carved away to show the glass underneath.
Costume and a hanging from the Peking opera.
Close up. The embroidered costume has a round neck, layered cloud shoulders and collar. The skirt has two layers of narrow streamers with pointed tips, tassels and jade pendants. It was made in the late Qing era for the role of a princess or Emperor's consort.
The costume of a bannerman commander. Bannermen were elite hereditary soldiers who commanded a division called the Eight Banners (eight coloured flags).
Military exercises were outlined in these sketches.
An artist from Guangzhou painted this copy of a British print of Queen Victoria in 1842.
Embroidered silk (1851) boots from Taiping.
Vase, inkstone and teapot with ancient calligraphy
A magnolia tree painted by a female artist Ma Quan (1700) - female artists were held in high regard but many of their works did not make it outside of their immediate circle.
Painting the natural world - I love these flowers
An Album of Insects and Flowers by Ju Lian (1828-1904)
These strange outfits are waterproofs for a worker. Labourers, street cleaners and other poorer people would wear this kind of outfit (made from straw layers stitched together). This one has only survived because it's been in the British Museum collection.
Women's sleeveless jacket worn over a robe.
This is a clock motive for a child from the 1700s. Painted, not embroidered.
A detachable collar could transform a plain robe.
Headpieces
Glove puppets
Little whistles are attached to pigeons so that when they fly they would make a musical sound.
A baker's shop sign. The characters say "Peace to all" and below it says "cakes"
An extraordinary portrait showing the influence of photography. This is actually entirely stitched! (1880). This would have taken many months to complete.
I loved this carved portrait by Chen Tingong from Yanguan (modern-day Zhejiang province, in Eastern China) of a scholar with his books.
A child's jacket and trousers. The colours and shapes were supposed to keep the forces of evil away from the wearer. The hats is in the form of a fish dragon.
The shoes are made in the form of tigers.
This folding screen was extraordinary - it was shown at the International Exposition in Paris in 1867. Kingfisher feathers on a lacquered wooden screen.
Just amazing!
Luxury goods were made for export such as this carved ivory basket. William Fullerton Elphinstone (1740-1834) a Director of the East India Company owned this which was shipped home as part of his private cargo.
It was an amazing exhibition and we really enjoyed it. I'll post about the other one tomorrow. Just time for today's question:
4 - Chocolate Chip Cookie Day: Are you a fan of chocolate chip cookies? Are you a chocolate chip cookie traditionalist, or do you like variations -- with nuts, or different types of chocolate, etc.? Do you have a favourite brand, or do you buy them from a bakery? Do you make your own? Will you share your favourite recipe?
I'm not a huge fan. I've made them with the children in the past, but there are other cookies/biscuits I'd rather make.
It was absolutely HEAVING with people in the Museum. So many tourist parties (and school visits) and lots and lots of Chinese people who came to see the China exhibition. Fortunately, there were timed tickets, so it wasn't too bad once we were in the exhibition room.
There were some lovely things in China's Hidden Century exhibition which covered the years from 1796 and 1912, beautiful drawings, clothing, and artefacts - we spent 90 minutes wandering around enjoying it all. Under the cut for some photos of things that caught my eye (many are worth making bigger).
Qing China was multi-ethnic and multilingual. This dictionary comprises over 2,500 pages in five languages: Manchu, Tibetan, Mongolian, vernacular Chagatai or Eastern Turki, and Chinese. The pages displayed are giving translations of various foods.
Snuff bottles!
The relevant Emperors in the exhibition:
Imperial blue robe. There are nine gold dragons on this robe and 12 imperial symbols (the sun, moon, constellations, mountains, dragons, a pheasant, ritual cups with tigers, water weed, millet, fire and axe and a 'fu' symbol). The Emperors were believed to control the universe.
Hair and body ornaments were given to celebrate special celebrations such as weddings, birthdays etc.
This hairpin contains kingfisher feathers.
These are fingernail guards to protect the long nail on the little finger in gold filigree.
Manchu women wore full-length robes while Han women wore jackets and skirts. This is a court robe decorated with butterflies (a symbol of longevity). It was owned by Der Ling (1881-1944) a lady in waiting for Cixi who was a courtier in the Forbidden City.
Cixi was a wonderful artist herself:
Glass! This is a very similar technique used by Emile Gallé in the Art Nouveau era. Colourless glass with white 'inclusions' is blown into a bottle shape. Then it is overlayed with copper/red glass. The red glass is then carved away to show the glass underneath.
Costume and a hanging from the Peking opera.
Close up. The embroidered costume has a round neck, layered cloud shoulders and collar. The skirt has two layers of narrow streamers with pointed tips, tassels and jade pendants. It was made in the late Qing era for the role of a princess or Emperor's consort.
The costume of a bannerman commander. Bannermen were elite hereditary soldiers who commanded a division called the Eight Banners (eight coloured flags).
Military exercises were outlined in these sketches.
An artist from Guangzhou painted this copy of a British print of Queen Victoria in 1842.
Embroidered silk (1851) boots from Taiping.
Vase, inkstone and teapot with ancient calligraphy
A magnolia tree painted by a female artist Ma Quan (1700) - female artists were held in high regard but many of their works did not make it outside of their immediate circle.
Painting the natural world - I love these flowers
An Album of Insects and Flowers by Ju Lian (1828-1904)
These strange outfits are waterproofs for a worker. Labourers, street cleaners and other poorer people would wear this kind of outfit (made from straw layers stitched together). This one has only survived because it's been in the British Museum collection.
Women's sleeveless jacket worn over a robe.
This is a clock motive for a child from the 1700s. Painted, not embroidered.
A detachable collar could transform a plain robe.
Headpieces
Glove puppets
Little whistles are attached to pigeons so that when they fly they would make a musical sound.
A baker's shop sign. The characters say "Peace to all" and below it says "cakes"
An extraordinary portrait showing the influence of photography. This is actually entirely stitched! (1880). This would have taken many months to complete.
I loved this carved portrait by Chen Tingong from Yanguan (modern-day Zhejiang province, in Eastern China) of a scholar with his books.
A child's jacket and trousers. The colours and shapes were supposed to keep the forces of evil away from the wearer. The hats is in the form of a fish dragon.
The shoes are made in the form of tigers.
This folding screen was extraordinary - it was shown at the International Exposition in Paris in 1867. Kingfisher feathers on a lacquered wooden screen.
Just amazing!
Luxury goods were made for export such as this carved ivory basket. William Fullerton Elphinstone (1740-1834) a Director of the East India Company owned this which was shipped home as part of his private cargo.
It was an amazing exhibition and we really enjoyed it. I'll post about the other one tomorrow. Just time for today's question:
4 - Chocolate Chip Cookie Day: Are you a fan of chocolate chip cookies? Are you a chocolate chip cookie traditionalist, or do you like variations -- with nuts, or different types of chocolate, etc.? Do you have a favourite brand, or do you buy them from a bakery? Do you make your own? Will you share your favourite recipe?
I'm not a huge fan. I've made them with the children in the past, but there are other cookies/biscuits I'd rather make.