The Department of IT, Imaging, and Digital Media provides access to and publication-licensing for images of works in the Palace Museum’s collection. The Palace Museum provides only digital files; transparencies are no longer made available.
These images are protected by copyright and all rights are reserved by the Museum. Images are licensed for a one-time use only. To publish images previously licensed for research purposes or to re-use images from another publication in any medium, please fill out the application form, provide a copy of the previous permission agreement, and reapply for image-use licenses.
Application Guide
1. Images are copyrighted by The Palace Museum, by which all rights are reserved. Image-usage licenses are sold for the one-time academic or educational use of the licensed image or images. For permission to publish, please complete the request form. The licensed images may not be sold, reproduced, or subjected to medium changes unless authorized by The Palace Museum. The publication must include the complete credit line provided by the Palace Museum.
2. The applicant must provide, gratis, two copies of the publication to the Palace Museum, to the attention of the Department of IT, Imaging & Digital Media.
3. When submitting a request, provide all relevant information regarding the work of art, such as the accession number, date, artist, title, and medium. Delays may occur if applications are submitted with incomplete or incorrect information.
4. Specify the type of use and if only publication permission is requested.
5. Plan your request at least 60 working days in advance as unforeseen setbacks may arise and cause delays.
6. The Palace Museum in its sole and absolute discretion reserves the right to deny permission to any applicant whose product is not acceptable to the Museum for any reason.
Request Procedure
1. Download and complete the request form.
2. Confirm the image price-list.
3. Sign the "Contract for Use of Images of the Palace Museum" and return. (Note: Hard copies of the licensing contract will be sent by post. Please return the signed copies to the address listed below.)
4. Complete payment.
5. Download the images via The Palace Museum FTP Server or email attachment.
6. Receive hard copies of the licensing letter, contract, and invoice.
Contact Information
Requests must be submitted in clear writing by sending the completed Image Licensing Request Form with image sample(s) by email, fax, or mail to:
Department of IT, Imaging & Digital Media
The Palace Museum
4 Jingshan Qianjie, Dongcheng District
Beijing 100009, China
Tel: +86 10 8500‐7346
(Office Hours: Mon-Fri 8am - 11:30am, 1:30pm - 5pm)
E‐mail: imageserver@dpm.org.cn
Fax: +86 10 6528‐8401
Payment Procedure
Upon receipt of a written request, a thumbnail sample of the requested image(s) and quotation of the fee will be sent for confirmation. As soon as the information concerning the image requested is confirmed, a payment invoice will be sent by email. Payment must be made in advance by one of the following methods:
1. Check payable to The Palace Museum for the full amount in US dollars.
2. Wire transfer to the Palace Museum’s account.
After receipt of payment, the image(s) will be sent within 7 working days.
Image Delivery
The Palace Museum supplies digital image files via a secure FTP site or email attachment.
In-house Search Service
In-house image search facilities are available. For this service, please send an email in English or Chinese to the Department of IT, Imaging & Digital Media via email to make an appointment.
imageserver@dpm.org.cn