A Pair of Qing Dynasty Huge Embroider Peking Opera Characters,Size 2 x 129 x 64 in.(328 x 163 cm x 2), The two textile silk tapestry/theatrical panels date from the Qing Dynasty (1800-1899), They depict a dramatic scene from the Beijing OperaÂ’s Mulan Serves in the Army.The two panels are very ornate and well-crafted pieces, embroidered in satin and polychrome silk with silver thread highlights. Background: Until the late 1950Â’s, the textiles hung in the luxurious Washington, DC, home of Andrew W. Mellon, the famous American banker businessman who established the Mellon National Bank and who served as Secretary of the Treasury under presidents Harding, Coolidge and Hoover. Mr. Mellon was also the founder of the National Gallery of Art and spent the last years of his life planning its construction. (The National Gallery, located in Washington, DC, is now part of the Smithsonian Institution.) While it is uncertain how the tapestries came into the possession of Mr. Mellon, it could very well have been through the extensive collection efforts of Lord Joseph Duveen, head of the international art brokerage firm Duveen Brothers. Lord Duveen was influential in forming several outstanding art collections in the U.S., including those of Messrs. Frick, Bache, Widener, Morgan, Altman, Kress and Mellon. In 1936, Lord Duveen leased an apartment at 1785 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, DC, on a floor below an apartment owned by Mr. Mellon. Lord Duveen leased this apartment specifically to display a 42-item Western art collection for Mr. MellonÂ’s benefit. Mellon subsequently bought the entire collection from Duveen for $21 million dollars and donated it to the nation, thus forming the basis for the new National Gallery of Art. It is probable that, in his international art collection efforts, Lord Duveen acquired the tapestries and offered them to Mr. Mellon.