'Loot', 1900

Pen and ink over watercolour en grisaille by Johann Nepomuk Schonberg (1844-1913), 1900.

Two Indian lancers overseeing the transport of goods piled up in a mule drawn cart, pushed by other Indian Army soldiers.

During the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 the foreign legations in Peking (Beijing) were besieged by nationalist rebels of the of the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists (or 'Boxers' as the Europeans came to call them), aided and abetted by Chinese Imperialist forces. A multinational force relieved the besieged European and Japanese forces, exacerbating the destruction caused by the rebels, by embarking on the systematic looting of the Imperial city. The relief force included the 1st (The Duke of York's Own) Regiment of Bengal Lancers, 1st Regiment of Sikh Infantry, Punjab Frontier Force and the 7th (Duke of Connaught's Own Rajputs) Regiment of Bengal Infantry.

Schonberg was an Austrian war correspondent and artist. He served in the Austrian Army in the 1860s. He supplied sketches to the 'Illustrated London News', eventually relocating to England. As well as the 3rd China War (Boxer Rebellion), Schonberg covered many other conflicts, including the American Civil War (1861-1865), the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878) and the Boer War (1899-1902).