T. Glover Fillette was an officer in the United States Marine Corps. He served on the USS
The collection conists of eight (8) Chinese and Japanese woodblock prints. Seven (7) of the prints deal with the Sino-French war (1884-1885) and Chinese-French relations in the latter half of the nineteenth cenutry. According to the accession records, the prints were meant to illustrate the "French war in Tonkin from the Chinese point of view," but several of the prints were made in Japan. One (1) print depicts an Italian traveling circus.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
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USNM Accession Number 24739
USNM Catalog Number 152751
The prints were collected by T. G. Fillette in 1888-1889; he donated them to the Smithsonian Institution in 1891. They were transferred from the object collections of the Department of Anthropology to the National Anthropological Archives by Chang-su Houchins in November 1986.
MS 7431 Chinese and Japanese prints collected by T. Glover Fillette, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Three prints in this collection were originally cataloged under numbers MS 7431, MS 7432, and MS 7433, with data furnished by Chang-su Houchins, Department of Anthropology. The remaining five prints were not cataloged. In 2022, the collection was reprocessed. All eight prints were incorporated into a single collection under MS 7431. Untitled drawings were assigned titles in square brackets [].
NAA MS 7431
NAA INV 10000088
A color woodblock print by Kunimine Utagawa (Utagawa Ginjiro) showing ships in rough seas (one swamped) and bearded men in a small boat. The ships and boat fly the French tricolor. A narrative caption in upper left corner gives account of the battles at Tonkin, Fuzhou [Foo-Chow], and elsewhere which led to the defeat of China and the signing of the Treaty of Tientsin in 1884.
Published by Yokoyama Ryōhei, Tokyo.
Shim-Butsu sensō suirai-ka no zu
A color woodblock print showing a Chinese official smoking opium surrounded by Frecnh battle ships in the bay and armed troops on the shore. Included also in the scene are figures of Westerners and a commentary inscription reflecting the Japanese appraisal of the Sino-French war. There is a play on the term sim-butsu (God or Buddha) or Shim-Butsu (Sino-French).
Published by Okura Sombei, Tokyo.
NAA MS 7432
NAA INV 10000089
Peking yume makura
Chinese depend on the help of God and Buddha who appear in their dreams to win the war
China Oblivious of the Consequences
A color woodblock print depicting General Liu's army of Black Flags in victory over the French army that was attempting to conquer the eastern provinces of Cochin China (now Vietnam) in the late 1860s.
The print was flattened, repaired, and mounted 1993-1997. For more information, see:
Tsai, Fei Wen and Dianne van der Reyden. "Technology, Treatment, and Care of a Chinese Wood Block Print."
A woodblock print depicting French and Chinese forces. The title is from a caption written in pencil on the print.
A woodblock print of a battle scene. Various factions depicted in the image have been numbered in red ink and pencil and labeled as "1. Black Flags; 2. French; 3. French gunboats; 4. Chinese general."
Fragments of two different prints of battle scenes.
A color woodblock triptych print by Sakura Doshi Kuni Masashi, published by Fukuda Kumajiro, based on a previous model by Utagawa (Baido) Masanobu from 1886. The print shows the circus arena with spectators on tiers of seats and various acts and feats in the ring. A narrative caption text in Japanese accounts the success of the Charine circus troop's Japanese debut in 1886 and its continuing popularity. Affixed to the center of the print are three layered and folded pieces of paper with scenes of: (1) two performing elephants; (2) a dancing horse; (3) an equestrienne; (4) a horse retrieving some object; and (5) a woman with birds standing on a horse's back and trapese artists. These allow a person to change the acts depicted in center of the ring.
NAA MS 7433
NAA INV 10000090
Viewing the World Renowned Italian Chiarinis Circus Performance
Itaria koku charine sekai dai-ichi dai kyobkuba yūran no zu