RIPA (Father Matteo).
Yingzhuan qiaomu (Orioles Warbling in the Tall Trees) of the Bishu shanzhuang series.
THE FIRST ENGRAVINGS DONE IN CHINA
The present print shows the Yingzhuan qiaomu (Orioles Warbling in the Tall Trees), a six-sided open pavilion located on the northern shore of Clearwater lake. It is the 22nd view in the Bishu Shanzhuang series of thirty-six. The name alludes to a poem entitled ‘Felling Trees’ in the Book of Songs (Shijing), the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, dating from the 11th-7th cent. BC.
See: Strassberg/Whiteman: Thirty-six Views. The Kangxi Emperor’s Mountain Estate in Poetry and Prints. Washington, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2016, p. 210)
Sets or individual prints of the Ripa engravings are exceedingly rare. They were only distributed amongst the close circle of the Emperor’s friends and family. We are only aware of one set having been offered at auction since 1945.
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