CHINA - CH'ING Dynasty (last imperial family) / Portfolio of - Lot 13

CHINA - CH'ING Dynasty (last imperial family) / Portfolio of 10 photographs depicting members of the Ch'ing dynasty, printed and laminated on rice paper (photos 11 x 17.5 cm), opening accordion-style, the hard covers are cloth-covered, the first cover bears a "Royal Photo Album" label: 2 photos of Empress Dowager Cixi who died in 1908 (one is captioned in the plate "Long live the Queen Mother"), 1 shows Puyi at the age of 16 (appointed emperor in 1908 at the age of 2 years and 10 months by Queen Dowager Cixi, and deposed in 1912 by a coup d'état), 1 depicts Puyi and Wanrong at the time of their marriage (they are 16), 2 others of Wanrong, 2 depict Consort Zen (Perle, Emperor Guangxu's concubine, she was thrown into a well in the Forbidden City in 1900, probably on Cixi's orders, and Guangxu was poisoned by his aunt Cixi in 1908), 1 photo shows young Puyi on his accession to the throne in 1908, accompanied by his father Prince Chun Zaifeng holding his brother Pujie, and the last photo shows Queen Dowager Cixi surrounded by her Ladies-in-waiting in the Forbidden City.