Cixi, Empress Dowager of China, Photographs
name: label: Photographer
content: Xunling, 1874-1943
label: Names
content: Cixi, Empress dowager of China, 1835-1908
label: Names
content: Der Ling, Princess, 1885-1944
label: Names
content: Guangxu, Emperor of China, 1871-1908
label: Names
content: Li, Lianying, 1848-1911
label: Names
content: Wanrong, 1906-1946
label: Names
content: Xunling, 1874-1943
place: label: Place
content: China -- History -- Qing dynasty, 1644-1912
label: Place
content: China
label: Place
content: Beijing (China)
label: Place
content: Yihe Yuan (Beijing, China)
label: Place
content: Forbidden City (Peking, China)
label: Place
content: China -- Beijing -- Beijing
topic: label: Topic
content: Photography -- China
label: Topic
content: Empresses
label: Topic
content: Palaces
label: Topic
content: Eunuchs
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Purchase, 1966.
creator: label: Photographer
content: Xunling, 1874-1943
setName: label: See more items in
content: Cixi, Empress Dowager of China, Photographs
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 44 Items
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1903-1905
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: The negatives were at one time in the possession of Xunling's sister, Princess Der Ling, who used many of them to illustrate her books on Cixi and the imperial Qing court.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: FSA.A.13
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Glass negatives
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The photographs are divided into four groups:
1. Twenty-four large negatives, 24.1 x 17.8 cm (SC-GR-243 to SC-GR-265; unnumbered). Original photographs by Xunling taken in the Forbidden City or the Summer Palace. 
2. Eleven smaller negatives, 12.7 x 10.2 cm. (SC-GR-270-272; 276-277; 279-284). Mostly informal portraits of Cixi and the court taken with a more portable camera.
3. Nine smaller negatives, 12.7 x 10.2 cm. (SC-GR-266-269; 273-275; 278; 285). These are copies of prints from other sources, possibly taken for Xunling's sister, the Princess Der Ling to illustrate her English language books and magazine articles. SC-GR-275 is a copy from a worn, damaged print of a famous Xunling photograph. SC-GR-285 is copied from a poor print of SC-GR-265. SC-GR-278 is a detail copied from SC-GR-261.
4. SC-GR-285a is a print of a group of Han Chinese women.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Glass negatives
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Cixi (慈禧太后), Empress Dowager of China, 1835-1908, Photographs. Forty-four glass plate negatives depicting the Empress Dowager of China, Cixi of the Qing dynasty, taken between 1903 to 1905 by the photographer Xunling (勋龄; ca.1880-1943). Scenes include the empress dowager on the imperial barge, in the Summer Palace (颐和园) with attendants, and individual portraits of Cixi in varieties of court attire. Other important figures of the royal court depicted are Empress Longyu (隆裕皇后; 1868 - 1913), Jinfei ((瑾妃; 1874 - 1924), Princess Der Ling (德龄公主; 1885 - 1944), Rongling (容龄;1882-1973), Lady Yugeng (裕太太), first chief eunuch Li Lianying (李連英; 1848 -1911), and second chief eunuch Cui Yugui (崔玉贵). The negatives were at one time in the possession of Xunling's sister, Princess Der Ling, who used many of them to illustrate her books on Cixi and the imperial Qing court. The collection includes thirty-five original glass plate negatives by Xunling and nine glass plate negatives copied from various sources, likely made for illustrations in Princess Der Ling's books and articles. Included in the acquisitions file is a 4 page typed essay by Lydia Dan (d. 2005), Xunling's niece, which identifies Xunling as the original photographer and describes the history of the photographs and anecdotes relating to Xunling and his family.