Reception of the foreign ministers by the Chinese Emperor, June 29 1873.

This Emperor, Toong Chir, died last winter of smallpox at the age of twenty. [Title from the inscription verso]. [U.S.A.? France? : s.n., probably 1875]. Albumen print photograph of a drawing by French artist Etienne Ronjat (after a Chinese painting), carte de visite format, 61 x 102 mm; verso with contemporary inscription in ink; both the print and mount are in excellent condition.

According to the University of Bristol (https://www.hpcbristol.net/visual/na01-62), the scene by Ronjat – a French artist renowned for his skill at copying – depicts ‘An audience with the Tongzhi Emperor (1856-1875) in Tse Kuang Ko (Pavilion of Violet Light or Purple Pavilion), Peking (Beijing) on 29th June 1873. Prince Kung (Yixin, 1st Prince Gong). Foreign Diplomatic representatives: General A. Vlangaly (Russia), Frederick F. Low (USA), Thomas Wade (Britain), L. de Geofroy (France), J.H. Ferguson (Holland). Interpreter: M. Bismarck.’

The inscription on the back of this carte states that the Emperor died ‘last winter’. As the Tongzhi Emperor died on 12 January 1875, this wording most likely dates the inscription (and probably the carte) to the second half of 1875 – but certainly no later than the very beginning of 1876.

Later in 1876, an engraving loosely based on Ronjat’s drawing was published in the Parisian periodical Le Tour du Monde, Nouveau journal des Voyages, edited by Edouard Charton.