Peonies

This large-scale hanging scroll of highly coloured peony blossoms was commissioned by Dowager Empress Cixi 慈禧 (1935-1908), and was probably painted by Miao Jiahui 繆嘉蕙, one of Cixi's lady-painters in service in the Good Fortune and Prosperity Hall of the Forbidden City. Cixi was the mother of Emperor Tongzhi 同治 (reigned 1862-1874) and aunt of Emperor Guangxu 光緒 (reigned 1875-1908). She effectively ruled China for much of the late 19th century.

After the riots of the anti-foreign Boxer Rebellion in 1900, Cixi made great efforts to amend China's diplomat relationships with the Western nations by entertaining the diplomats and their wives, missionaries and other foreign guests in the Forbidden City. The painting, with Cixi's seal affixed on the top, was given to Frau Olga Julia Wegener, the wife of a German diplomat who served in China from 1906 to 1908.