Exhibition in US brings Qing empresses to life
Looking into a mirror, a young woman with slender hands at court in the Forbidden City fits a hairpin into her stylish hair, followed by jewelry in the shape of a butterfly and a silver flower. Nearby, a servant takes a book from a high shelf.
It's just a glimpse into the daily routine of an empress from China's last dynasty, the Qing (1644-1911). The life-size depiction, painted in the second half of the 18th century, is on exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution's two museums of Asian art, the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington.
The painting, which embraces the dual virtues of the ideal empress - beauty and erudition - is one of nearly 135 objects made for, by and about the Qing empresses on view along the National Mall through June 23.
