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Two rare intaglio engravings, from the set of 16 after drawings by Feng Ning, also known as Feng Xiang, depicting the pacification of the Miao Rebellion: plate six depicts ‘The Attack on Lancaoping and Kunniupo’ and plate seven ‘The Attack on Huangquasi’, with poems by the Qianlong Emperor dated 1795 and an imperial seal reading Taishang Huangdi (retired Emperor), referring to the Qianlong Emperor’s status between 1796 and 1799.
Circa 1798-1803
Sheets: 22 5/8 x 36 3/4”, 57.5 x 93.5 cm
Feng Ning was a court painter of portraiture and architecture.
The Miao were aboriginal peoples living along the Hunan-Guizhou border. The Qianlong Emperor proclaimed the conclusion of the campaign against the Miao and pacification of the region, achieved in 1795, with the publication of 16 narrative prints, drawn and engraved by Chinese artists and with poems by the Emperor. The last of the poems is dated 1798 and a full set of the prints was purchased by a Chinese scholar at the beginning of 1804.
The British Museum has 11 of the 16 prints in the Hunan battle series, including plates
6 and 7; the Victoria and Albert Museum has 15 from the series, lacking plate 7, and the Musée Guimet has 6, also lacking plate 7.
Plate seven: The Attack on Huangquasi