Uncovering the Provenance of “Orphaned” Objects
In recent years, scattered pages of the coloured version of Huangchao liqi tushi have been found in several public institutions outside China and even on the art market. The discovery of pages bearing the Yuanmingyuan seal has led to them being associated with the looting of Yuanmingyuan in 1860. H...
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University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani)
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Asian Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.uni-lj.si/as/article/view/18434 |
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| author | Haoyang Zhao |
| author_facet | Haoyang Zhao |
| author_sort | Haoyang Zhao |
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In recent years, scattered pages of the coloured version of Huangchao liqi tushi have been found in several public institutions outside China and even on the art market. The discovery of pages bearing the Yuanmingyuan seal has led to them being associated with the looting of Yuanmingyuan in 1860. However, as commonly encountered in provenance research, a thorough analysis of the available archives indicates that portions of pages held in various institutions were acquired from unrelated individuals or dealers at different times, without substantial evidence linking them directly to the looting of Yuanmingyuan or to soldiers involved in the looting. Consequently, it is not possible to definitively establish their Yuanmingyuan provenance. Facing these challenges, this study employs methods beyond the traditional archival research approach, demonstrating how additional insights can be derived from checking indirect archives and marks on the reverse of pages. More importantly, the study showcases how an art historical understanding of the material can offer new perspectives, shifting the focus from searching for provenance documents of individual portions to connecting portions without records to those with more solid evidence, considering the possibility that direct provenance records may never have existed.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c0cc4599ee8b4822866bba4dd22e84d4 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2232-5131 2350-4226 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Asian Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-c0cc4599ee8b4822866bba4dd22e84d42025-01-16T08:19:38ZengUniversity of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani)Asian Studies2232-51312350-42262025-01-0113110.4312/as.2025.13.1.289-322Uncovering the Provenance of “Orphaned” ObjectsHaoyang Zhao0University of Glasgow, United Kingdom In recent years, scattered pages of the coloured version of Huangchao liqi tushi have been found in several public institutions outside China and even on the art market. The discovery of pages bearing the Yuanmingyuan seal has led to them being associated with the looting of Yuanmingyuan in 1860. However, as commonly encountered in provenance research, a thorough analysis of the available archives indicates that portions of pages held in various institutions were acquired from unrelated individuals or dealers at different times, without substantial evidence linking them directly to the looting of Yuanmingyuan or to soldiers involved in the looting. Consequently, it is not possible to definitively establish their Yuanmingyuan provenance. Facing these challenges, this study employs methods beyond the traditional archival research approach, demonstrating how additional insights can be derived from checking indirect archives and marks on the reverse of pages. More importantly, the study showcases how an art historical understanding of the material can offer new perspectives, shifting the focus from searching for provenance documents of individual portions to connecting portions without records to those with more solid evidence, considering the possibility that direct provenance records may never have existed. https://journals.uni-lj.si/as/article/view/18434Huangchao liqi tushi 皇朝禮器圖式provenance researchhistory of collectinglooted objectsYuanmingyuan 圓明園 |
| spellingShingle | Haoyang Zhao Uncovering the Provenance of “Orphaned” Objects Asian Studies Huangchao liqi tushi 皇朝禮器圖式 provenance research history of collecting looted objects Yuanmingyuan 圓明園 |
| title | Uncovering the Provenance of “Orphaned” Objects |
| title_full | Uncovering the Provenance of “Orphaned” Objects |
| title_fullStr | Uncovering the Provenance of “Orphaned” Objects |
| title_full_unstemmed | Uncovering the Provenance of “Orphaned” Objects |
| title_short | Uncovering the Provenance of “Orphaned” Objects |
| title_sort | uncovering the provenance of orphaned objects |
| topic | Huangchao liqi tushi 皇朝禮器圖式 provenance research history of collecting looted objects Yuanmingyuan 圓明園 |
| url | https://journals.uni-lj.si/as/article/view/18434 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT haoyangzhao uncoveringtheprovenanceoforphanedobjects |