American commemoration of the Boxer Rebellion

Datec 1900

Object number00015486

NameEmbroidery

MediumSilk, rice paper, metallic thread

DimensionsOverall: 846 x 730 mm, 0.25 kg
Display Dimensions: 845 x 730 mm

ClassificationsDecorative and folk art

Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds

Terms

DescriptionThis silk embroidery was made as a United States Naval Souvenir of the Boxer Rebellion - 1899 - 1901. The embroidery features an American eagle holding an anchor which is decorated with the stars and stripes of the American flag. The flags and naval ensigns of the the countries involved in the Boxer Rebellion also feature. The flags of the United States, Qing dynasty of China, France, United Kingdom and Italy appear on the left and the flags of Japan, Austro-Hungary, Russia and Germany appear on the right.HistoryThe Boxer uprising or Boxer Rebellion began when a Chinese sect known as the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists started agitating against Western colonial influences in the late nineteenth century. The term Boxer was given as a Western corruption of the original Chinese name. In 1900, the Society, having gained popular support in northern China, attacked Western outposts in Beijing and Tianjin. One slogan used by the Society during the rebellion and emphasising its cause was 'Protect the Ch'ing Dynasty, exterminate the foreigner'. In response the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Italy, Japan and the United States formed the Eight Nation Alliance to crush the violent uprising against foreigners in China. They brought 45,000 troops to China and suppressed the rebellion in September 1901. The action was immortalised in the Hollywood movie "55 days in Peking". In America, the action to suppress the Boxer rebellion was known as the China Relief Expedition. The United States provided a large number of American ships and troops already deployed in the Phillipines to assist the Eight Nation Alliance. SignificanceThis embroidery is stylistically similar to embroidered tapestries produced almost a decade later to commemorate the cruise of the Great White Fleet.