Die Ziguangge: Halle des Purpurglanzes

Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Schloßplatz 1, 10178, Berlin

August 28, 2024 – August 31, 2026

The exhibition "The Ziguangge: Hall of Purple Glory" presents portraits of loyal officials and generals commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor (R. 1736-1795) for the Ziguangge Hall of Fame to demonstrate his power. The Ziguangge, a two-story pavilion next to the Forbidden City in Beijing, served as a place for military rituals and banquets during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. The hall housed battle pictures and portraits of meritorious officers. In the 20th century, the hall was looted by the multinational Eight Nations Alliance during the defeat of the Boxer movement in 1900/01, with all 280 portraits robbed. Many of these works were in German collections. In 1945, the pictures in Berlin were taken by the USSR as spoils of war; The originals are now in museums in Russia.