Mrs Yates as Mandane in ‘The Orphan of China’ Possibly 1765

Curator: Tilly Kettle painted this full-length portrait, ‘Mrs. Yates as Mandane in ‘The Orphan of China’’. Editor: The textile work is fantastic; you can almost feel the velvet of her dress and the weight of those elaborate, almost theatrical, silk robes. Curator: Indeed, it shows us the material culture surrounding theatre at the time. Kettle was commissioned to capture Mrs. Yates in her role, reflecting the popularity and social significance of stage performances. The choice of costume becomes a statement. Editor: Yes, and I wonder about those materials. Were these fabrics actually used for the play, signaling authenticity and heightening the drama, or were they carefully constructed for the portrait itself, crafting an image of exoticism and luxury? Curator: That question exposes how deeply interwoven the theatre, portraiture, and socio-political worlds were. These types of images helped to shape perceptions of other cultures. Editor: It all makes me think about the consumption of theatre and how a painted reproduction helped further promote Yates' persona. Curator: It is a fascinating intersection between persona, theater, and societal taste. Editor: Definitely gives us something to consider about the power of images in shaping our view of the world.