The Great Victory of Qurman
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This print depicts a battle in 1759, toward the end of the Qianlong Emperor’s (r. 1735–96) campaign in East Turkestan (1755–59). In the foreground the Manchu cavalry, backed with cannons pulled by camels and horses, rout the enemies wielding long spears.
The Qianlong Emperor commemorated his military success by ordering court artists, including four European missionaries, to produce paintings of the campaign. The missionaries then made reduced drawings of those paintings and shipped them to Paris to be engraved and printed. A fragment of the original Qurman painting is displayed to the left.
The Qianlong Emperor commemorated his military success by ordering court artists, including four European missionaries, to produce paintings of the campaign. The missionaries then made reduced drawings of those paintings and shipped them to Paris to be engraved and printed. A fragment of the original Qurman painting is displayed to the left.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Great Victory of Qurman
- Artist: after a drawing by Giovanni Damasceno Salusti (1727–1781)
- Date: 1770
- Culture: Paris
- Medium: Copperplate etching and engraving on European paper
- Dimensions: Image: 228 3/8 x 365 3/4 in. (580 x 929 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: On loan from the British Museum
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art