The Sun Never Sets on the Celestial Kingdom

A New Show at the British Museum

Fittingly, the most interesting section of the exhibition tackles Britain’s relationship with China. The Georgians were fascinated by all things Chinese. William Chambers’s pagoda at Kew and Brighton Pavilion, both seen here in etchings, testify to that. We see the fine English porcelain that its makers boasted was as good as the original article and ideal for replacing broken items from a China service. Ostentatious gold clocks made by James Cox have been lent by the Palace Museum, which has a much larger horde of Cox’s pieces than anywhere else, including Britain.
A watercolour of the grand arrival of the Qianlong Emperor at the audience that he granted to Macartney’s delegation was by William Alexander. He was the official draughtsman to the Macartney embassy but had to create this picture from his imagination and briefings by those who were there as he had been elsewhere, organising the gifts for the Emperor. Later he took a job that could be said to have played a role in ensuring that 200 years later this form of 21st-century cultural diplomacy was possible. He served as the first Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum.