Looty!

Looty was the first Peke to set paw in Britain, having been brought back from China following the Second Opium War and subsequently being presented to Queen Victoria (as war booty...or loot) in April of 1861. Her story, as well as that of the strange juxtaposed lives of the empress Tsu Hsi & Queen Victoria, are well documented & brilliantly exemplified by Rumer Godden in her book "The Butterfly Lions".  

Our favourite butterfly lion had been found by Captain John Hart Dunne of the 99th Regiment on the 10/06/1860 sacking of the Summer Palace near Beijing ("Peking"as it was called then).  Upon his return to England he presented Looty to Queen Victoria for 'the Royal Collection of dogs'. Looty was considered 'the smallest and by far the most beautiful little animal that has appeared in this country'. When the superb artist F.W. Keyl was asked to sketch Looty he was told he 'must put something to shew its size, it is remarkably small'. A replica of this picture was painted for Captain Dunne. 

Looty was a "sleeve dog"...a tiny companion which one could hide within the wing-like sleeves of one's robes. To this day, we refer to the occasional tiny specimens which pop-up in our litters from time-to-time as "Sleeves"...

Looty's painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1862.