China, 18^th - early 19^th century. Ink and watercolors on paper. Depicting a Pekingese dog with black and white fur standing foursquare with an upturned tail on a grassy ground, the face with an alert expression, round ochre eyes, and bushy ears.

Provenance: The personal collection of Robert Rousset. Thence by descent to Jean-Pierre Rousset. Robert Rousset was a former French radio officer in the merchant navy, who became one of the most prominent pioneers of the Chinese art market in Paris. As a child, his father, an insurance agent, would take him to Hôtel Drouot where he started to buy at a very young age. His true passion for Asian art started in the 1920s, when he was sent on a mission to Beijing after the decline of the Qing empire, along with Osvald Sirén, the famous Swedish Asian art historian and connoisseur. He then became one of the main contributors of Chinese antiques for the Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes, founded in Paris in the early 20th century by the Blazy brothers. After the 1929 stock market crash, he had the opportunity to acquire the company. With his sister Suzanne in charge of the porcelain, they developed the business and became one of the most important dealers in France, selling pieces to the greatest museums, including the Musée Guimet and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. With no children of his own, Robert took his nephew Jean-Pierre (1936-2021) under his wing and began grooming him to eventually take over the gallery. He loved to wander with Jean-Pierre through the gallery's exhibitions and storerooms, telling stories about each piece while cultivating his protégé’s eye. Jean-Pierre was also sent by his uncle to train with the great expert in Asian art and Robert’s close friend, Michel Beurdeley, whose numerous publications are still commonly referenced today. When Robert passed away, his private collection was divided between Jean-Pierre and his sister, Anne-Marie, whose part was sold with great success after her death in 2019.
Condition: Good condition with some wear, little creasing, minor soiling, small touchups, few repairs, and minor tears. The frame with minor wear.

Dimensions: Image size 50.7 x 48.5 cm, Size incl. mounting 64.8 x 62.8 cm

Framed behind glass. (2)

The Pekingese breed originated in China and could only be owned by members of the Chinese Imperial Palace. A consort of the Daoguang Emperor, Lady Chang of the prominent Manchu Heseri clan, was a lover of dogs and particularly enamored with Pekingese. According to Geoffrey R. Sayer (Tao Ya or Pottery Refinements, London, 1959, page 123, no. 722) “Cheng Miao [the Daoguang Emperor] was fond of pigeons, his exalted concubine was fond of little dogs.”

During the Second Opium War, in 1860, the Old Summer Palace in Beijing was occupied by a contingent of British and French troops. The Xianfeng Emperor had fled with all of his court to Chengde. However, the elderly Consort Chang remained. When the British and French troops entered, she committed suicide. She was later found surrounded by her five Pekingese. They were removed by the Allies before the Summer Palace was burnt to the ground.

John Hart Dunne, Captain of the 99th Regiment of Foot, who participated in the Second Opium War and ransacked the Summer Palace, gifted one of these Pekingese to Queen Victoria in April 1861, writing to her in a letter: “This little dog was found by me in the Palace of Yuan-Ming-Yuan near Peking on the 6th of October 1860. It is supposed to have belonged to either the Empress, or one of the ladies of the Imperial Family. It is a most affectionate and intelligent little creature – it has always been accustomed to being treated as a pet and it was with the hope that it might be looked upon as such by Her Majesty and the Royal Family that I have brought it from China.” (David Matthews, Jo Lee Magazine, November 2002, page 18). Rather insensitively, the Queen and first owner of a Pekingese in the West named her new pet ‘Looty’.



清代中期《哈巴狗》
中國, 十八至十九世紀，紙本水墨設色。一隻北京哈巴狗，毛色黑白相間，尾巴上翹，立於草地上，面帶警惕之色，圓溜溜的眼睛，毛茸茸的耳朵。

來源：Robert Rousset私人收藏，直到Jean-Pierre Rousset繼承。Robert Rousset曾是商船的無線電通信官。 他是法國巴黎的中國藝術市場最傑出的先驅之一。他的父親是一名保險代理人，會帶他去 Hôtel Drouot拍賣行，孩提時代他就開始購買藝術品。他對亞洲藝術的真正熱情始於 1920 年代，當時清朝沒落，他與瑞典著名亞洲藝術史學家和鑑賞家 Osvald Sirén 一起被派往北京。隨後，他成為二十世紀初由 Blazy 兄弟在巴黎創立的 Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes 旗下中國古董的主要合作者之一。1929 年股市崩盤後，他有機會收購了這家公司。在他負責瓷器的妹妹 Suzanne的帶領下，他們發展了這項業務，並成為法國最重要的經銷商之一，向最大的博物館，包括吉美博物館和大都會藝術博物館，出售古董。由於沒有自己的孩子，Robert 把他的侄子Jean-Pierre置於其翼下，並培養他藝廊。他喜歡和 Jean-Pierre 一起逛藝廊和儲藏室，講述每件作品的故事，同時培養他的眼光。Jean-Pierre 還被他的叔叔派去師從亞洲藝術專家Michel Beurdeley，他也是Robert 的密友，他的眾多著作至今仍被廣泛引用。Robert去世後，他的私人收藏由Jean-Pierre和他的妹妹Anne-Marie平分，Anne-Marie的部分藏品在她於 2019 年去世後成功售賣。
品相：狀況良好，有一些磨損、少量摺痕、輕微汙漬、小修補和輕微撕裂。框架有輕微磨損。

尺寸：畫面50.7 x 48.5 釐米, 總 64.8 x 62.8 釐米

玻璃裝框。 (2)

北京哈巴狗起源於中國，只能由中國皇宮成員擁有。道光皇帝的妃子、滿族名門赫色裡氏的張氏非常愛狗，尤其鍾愛京哈，見Geoffrey R. Sayer，〈Tao Ya or Pottery Refinements〉，倫敦，1959 年，第 123 頁，第 722 期。