THIS IS THE first time that treasures from the Chinese Imperial Palace in Beijing have been presented alongside works of art from the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. The exhibition focuses on the similarities and differences of their respective attitudes to the arts, ritual and ceremony. It also examines the collecting policies at the imperial court in China and the Saxon-Polish court and compares the strategies used for enhancing the prestige of the ruler and his entourage through patronage of the arts. The period in review is the late 17th and the 18th century, an age in which these two distant courts each had developed a deep fascination for the other’s culture. Under August the Strong, in particular, there was a vogue for all things Chinese – his desire to possess the treasures and knowledge of the East was unmatched by any other European ruler. Simultaneously, at the Chinese imperial court, Western knowledge was introduced by the Jesuits, and emperor Qianlong, for example, was fascinated by the European must-have gadgets of the day: clocks, musical boxes and automata. 

On show are approximately 300 objects from the holdings of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and from the Imperial Palace in Beijing. The exhibition is divided into thematic sections: Representational displays of power, Festivities, Representational publicity, Grand architecture, Courtly arts and sciences, Politics and diplomacy and Views of others. Within these themes, key terms are highlighted with comparisons between China and Dresden. The artefacts range from objets d’art to portraits and paintings to women’s court dress.

An introduction places the two courts in their geographical and historical situations countries during this period. Since their mutual influence was particularly felt in the arts in the 18th century, there is a section devoted to the principles of Chinese art, European art and the new ‘hybrid’ art forms arising from this encounter between the two cultures, illustrated by landscape paintings, porcelain and clocks. Governmental control required not only real power but also, and above all, obvious demonstrations of power and prestige. The central insignia of power (throne, regalia, seals) and their ritual or ceremonial use are exhibited, as are the symbols (the dragon, the colour yellow, etc) and allegories (Augustus, Hercules Saxonicus). An important role was played by state portraits. Portaits in China, although influenced in their form by European painting, served a completely different purpose to those at the European courts. They were exclusive objects used in ancestor worship, unlike in Europe where they were copied and distributed (in the form of paintings, prints, miniatures and medals). Since the Chinese Emperor was at once supreme ruler and ‘Son of Heaven’, the theme of religion, and especially its instrumentalisation (Buddhism as a unifying force; the conversion of August the Strong to Catholicism), is also considered in this section.

Important court festivities and their ceremonial procedures and forms highlight cultural differences – such as the screening off of the Chinese emperor during processions – this is in direct contrast to the public entrances of European rulers. In addition to dress and jewellery, theatre, dance, opera and music were important elements of festive culture in both courts. As well as traditional Chinese opera costumes from the Palace collection, the exhibition contains the score and script of the opera L’eroe cinese (The Chinese Hero) composed by the Saxon court composer Hasse after a libretto by Pietro Metastasio, which was performed at Schloss Hubertusburg in 1753.

Both the royal household and the immediate family of the ruler belonged to court society, whose members functioned both as participants and spectators in all the courtly festivities and who were also the people that such festivities were intended to impress. The theme of the princely family will be explored, with emphasis being placed on women at court – the Empress Dowager or Princess, concubines and mistresses – and their position and influence at court. In particular, jewellery, clothes and other gifts and tokens from their benefactors bear eloquent testimony to the position of each woman within the court. A special section designed specifically for children is devoted to the subject of childhood at court. Saxon princesses and Chinese heirs to the throne, kitchen boys, wet-nurses and maids all feature, with a wealth of interesting information on everyday life, East and West, of the time.

The Chinese Emperors were interested in the arts, became scholars, studied the art of calligraphy, poetry and writing, as well as being avid collectors; likewise, the Saxon Electors acted as collectors and patrons of the arts. Examples from imperial and princely collections particularly focus on objets d’art, jade, bronzes, porcelain, paintings and treasury art, are on show. The form and presentation of these collections is also discussed.

The final section deals with the theme of diplomacy and the ceremonial with which it is associated; diplomatic gifts; the role of the Jesuits in China; and special rules of ceremony. In the work Ten Thousand Ambassadors at the Court of Beijing ambassadors from many nations are depicted presenting gifts as tribute to the Emperor. The exhibition will also include a court rapier and a 547.71 carat sapphire, which Tsar Peter the Great gave as a gift to August the Strong in 1698. This clearly illustrates the differing international political circumstances facing the two rulers: the central, all-dominating Chinese Empire, on the one hand, and the need for rival European powers to ensure balance through diplomacy, on the other. And finally, a special section is devoted to the two cultures’ views of each other –  ranging from descriptions of life claiming to be ‘realistic’ to Utopian ideas and caricatures of the other side.

Golden Dragon - White Eagle:  Art in the Service of Power at the Imperial Court of China and at the Saxon-Polish Court (1644-1795) at the Dresden Royal Palace, Dresden, Germany, from 11 October to 11 January 2009. The exhibition will be on show at the Palace Museum, Beijing from mid-April to mid-July 2009.