British Museum's Rarest Chinese Artefact

The British Museum is home to an extensive array of Chinese artefacts

but the most highly venerated and valuable piece has traditionally been hidden from public view

this concealed scroll painting is recognized as one of the most important Chinese works of art

throughout history and was cherished by successive Chinese Emperors including Emperor Qian Long

it was briefly displayed for 42 days in the Autumn of 2022, the first time in three years

and so I traveled to the museum to uncover the history behind the object

In this documentary we will explore the meaning and significance of the painting

In the process explaining the turbulent history of how it ended up at the British Museum

and how it became so irrevocably damaged

This is the story of the British Museum's rarest Chinese artifact

The admonitions of the instructress to the court ladies

is a visual depiction of an important third century essay

on the correct conduct and behaviour of women who attend to the emperor, written by the poet Zhang Hua

This scene for example shows a court lady being rejected by an emperor with a raised hand gesture

symbolising the fate of a lady who doesn't act appropriately

Another scene shows a court concubine applying makeup with a maid

representing the importance of appearances for the woman in the emperor's life

and this scene illustrates the story of Fung Yuen, an imperial consort who protected the life of the Yuan Emperor of the Han Dynasty

by placing herself between a wild animal and the emperor

the wild animal was killed by the guards

but her selfless actions are, according to the writings of Zhang Hua, to be expected of Imperial consorts

The high Prestige of the painting in part derives from the admiration shown

towards it by the Qing Emperor Qian Long

who classified it as one of his favourite paintings

As is custom, Qian Long applied numerous seals and inscriptions on the work

to express his appreciation of its quality

The original painter of the scroll is Gu Kaizhi, a renowned Chinese artist from the 4th century

who is best known for his silk hand scroll paintings of classic Chinese poems and essays

Gu Kaizhi's paintings are highly respected

for their exceptional detail and ability to convey character emotion and spirit through art

The facial expressions represent significant improvements over previous Han Dynasty examples

and the structures and environment were unprecedented in their realism

The British museum also contains another silk scroll painting from Gu Kaizhi called the Nymph of the Luo River

This painting exemplifies another aspect of Gu Kaizhi's work which is highly revered

that of his landscape painting

His scrolls are credited with bringing significant advancements in the Chinese landscape painting tradition

with realistic depictions of diverse features such as trees, rivers, clouds, and mountains

Gu Kaizhi also contributed to the progress of Chinese narrative illustration

with different sections of the story told across one extended scroll