A Chinese Aladdin Sampler, England, 1937…

Came across this interesting needlework “sampler” (a piece of embroidery produced as a demonstration or a test of skill in needlework) recently in England. It’s from 1937 (February 24 to be precise!) and relates to the four seasons. Around the edge are various characters – Alice in Wonderland, Dick Whittington and a representation of Aladdin as Chinese (the earliest known versions of One Thousand and One Nights of course places Aladdin in a Chinese city, despite different interpretations in subsequent pantomime and Disneyesque re-tellings). You can see his magic lamp conjuring the genie as he wears a conical hat, traditional Chinese boots with upturned toes (Xue – 靴) and a Qing Dynasty queue. Aladdin was usually represented as Chinese and in China in British pantomimes of the Victorian era and beyond.