#twelvebeautifies

The Yongzheng Emperor (1678–1735) was the fifth emperor of the Qing dynasty. When he was still a prince, he commissioned a set of paintings to decorate a screen in his study within his private quarters at the Summer Palace. The set comprised of twelve portraits of court women engaged in various leisure activities, whether sampling tea, watching butterflies or cats, reading, looking outside, admiring flowers, and so on. These idealized women are depicted in the high fashion of the period with accessories and ornaments, often situated within lavishly decorated interiors.

In the first painting, you see behind the woman a Ru ware style brush washer and a jade table screen. To her left is a red-glazed monks-cap ewer and a bronze zun wine beaker. All of these precious objects represent the opulence of the imperial household. (Source: ChinaCulture.Org)

This facsimile set will be a great resource for researching the design, costumes and accessories of the Qing dynasty’s court style, especially for women.