Photography Harem Ruins in the Old Summer Palace

A black-and-white photograph showing the ruins of part of the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan 圓明園) in Beijing, which was burned down in 1860. All that remains is a circular platform with a balustrade made of white marble hanbai yushi 漢白玉石. At the end of the Second Opium War, on the orders of Lord Elgin, French and British troops burned and looted the Old Summer Palace in retaliation for the torture and execution of European and Indian prisoners. Designed as an expression of heaven on earth, the Old Summer Palace had housed thousands of priceless treasures and works of art, whose beauty was also known outside China. More than two square kilometres had contained pagodas, a stupa, a library, fountains and palaces. Some of these buildings were designed and built by the Jesuits in the European Baroque style.

The photograph is the 329th of 449 photographs of Beijing and its surroundings in the album of Ivan Skušek Jr., purchased during his stay in Beijing (1914–1920). In the handwritten inventory of the album, the photograph is referred to as Ruinen von Yüen-Ming-Yüen (2. Sommerpalais): Harem. (DZ, MV)