Display

Charles Cordier (1827-1905), Chinese Man and Chinese Woman, 1853

Two exceptional works join the Musée d'Orsay collections

From November 19th, 2024 to March 02nd, 2025
Early works by Charles Cordier (Cambrai, 1827 – Algiers, 1905), these two Chinese busts sculpted in 1853 were purchased by the Museum in late 2023. They are the artist’s first attempts at polychromy, making use here of galvanoplasty and enameling, techniques he would not employ again. Restored in early 2024, they are presented to the public for the first time.

These two busts are portraits of a Chinese man and woman from Guangzhou (Canton), Chung Ataï and his second wife Yung Achoi, who arrived in Europe in 1851 for the Universal Exhibition in London. Their trip was organised by Ninian Crawford and William Lane, two English merchants. It was a commercial venture: audiences

were able to buy objects in the midst of a show depicting daily life in China.

Chung Ataï travelled with his first wife, Sen Ahup, his second wife, Yung Achoi, his sister-in-law Chung Ahoo and their servant. They were the guests of Queen Victoria at Osbourne House, her summer residence on the Isle of Wight.

Paris was the next stop, in October 1851. It was at this juncture that Cordier created theses two busts. From January 1852, they embarked on a vast tour of Europe, visiting the Netherlands and the German states. Yung Achoi died in Antwerp in 1852. The other members of the party arrived in Munich in February 1853, then travelled to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy. They finally departed for Guangzhou from Naples in 1854.

  1. Monday Closed
  2. Tuesday 9.30am - 6.00pm
  3. Wednesday 9.30am - 6.00pm
  4. Thursday 9.30am - 9.45pm
  5. Friday 9.30am - 6.00pm
  6. Saturday 9.30am - 6.00pm
  7. Sunday 9.30am - 6.00pm
Musée d'Orsay
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Time slot full rate
€16
Time slot reduced rate
€13
Enfant & Cie
€13
Nocturne rate
€12
-18 year olds, -26 year old residents of the EEA
Free
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