China - Nanjing; J

Technical data Title: Gezigt van de Stad Nanking, uit Nieuhof; panoramic view of the city of Nanking, today Nanjing, China. Author: Jacob van der Schley (1715–1779); signature “J. v. Schley direx.” in the lower left, indicating the direction of the engraving work. Draftsman: by Johan Nieuhof (1618–1672), as stated in the inscriptions. Publisher: Pieter de Hondt, Place: The Hague, Netherlands. Date: about 1750. Technique: copper engraving with aquatint and burin, with manual colorization of an era not verified. Support: rag paper. Dimensions: impression 18.5 × 26 cm; sheet 25 × 37.5 cm. Inscriptions: Dutch title under the view, “Gezigt van de Stad Nanking, uit Nieuhof”; French title on the upper ribbon, “Vue de Nanking tirée de Nieuhof”. Composition: single plate with central editorial fold, taken from Histoire générale des voyages, ou nouvelle collection de toutes les relations de voyages par mer et par terre, in the Amsterdam edition published by Pieter de Hondt. Verso: white. Description Panoramic view of Nanjing etched under the direction of Jacob van der Schley, derived from Johan Nieuhof’s iconography and published around 1750 in the Hague edition of Histoire générale des voyages. The city stretches along the horizon, enclosed by a wall of fortifications from which multi-tiered buildings and towers emerge. In front of the inhabited area unfolds a broad landscape crossed by a watercourse, spanned by arched bridges and flanked by trees, cultivated land and small structures. A rock outcrop on the left introduces a variation in the profile of the plain. The foreground, darker and more emphatic, hosts a group of figures and a rider, beside a tall tree that closes the composition on the right. The sequence of planes leads the eye from the figures to the watercourse, then to the city and the distant reliefs. The wide sky is worked with fine hatchings and clouds, while a decorative frame encloses the scene. The French title appears within a ribbon at the top; the Dutch caption under the image identifies the subject and the derivation model. The manual coloring distinguishes the waters, vegetation, architectures and the sky, accompanying the prospective reading of the landscape. Historical-artistic note The view belongs to the tradition of illustrated travel volumes that disseminated in Europe images of Asian cities and landscapes. The reference to Johan Nieuhof documents the eighteenth-century revival of an iconographic repertoire developed in the previous century and widely used in publications devoted to China. The plate combines descriptive intent and European figurative conventions: the city in the background, the landscape articulated in depth and the foreground figures construct a representation meant both for geographical knowledge and for the visual reading of travel accounts. Condition Report The exemplar is in generally good condition, with a sharp impression and well-preserved coloring. Central vertical editorial fold; slight puckering of the support and sporadic small oxidization spots. Wide margins on all four sides, with modest edge wear. Verso white, with slight transparency of the print.

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