KHOA NGỌC (20TH CENTURY)

Galerie La Perle, Hanoi, Tonkin (according to a label on the reverse)
Private collection, United Kingdom

This watercolour depicts the interior of the throne room in the Imperial City of Huế and may constitute a rare historical document. Several clues indeed suggest that the scene predates the 1923 renovation. Of particular note are the fabric pelmet above the throne, replaced after the works by a gilded wooden one, and the vases, which appear in the painting as well as in two black-and-white photographs from the 1890s, and were removed during the renovation.

To our knowledge, the only other records showing the throne room in this state are these two photographs from the 1890s and an old postcard (see related work). Through its colour, which photography could not then capture, this watercolour offers a unique view of the place before its transformation.

Pierre Dieulefils (1862 - 1937), Carte postale de la Salle du Trône de Hué, Annam, DR