China - Beijing, Tianjin; J. van der Schley - Jo Si Wo entre Tyen-Tsing-Wey et Peking tiré de Nieuhof - 1751-1760

Technical sheet
Title: Jo Si Wo entre Tyen-Tsing-Wey et Peking drawn from Nieuhof; view of a town along the waterway between Tianjin and Beijing, China.
Author: Jacob van der Schley (1715–1779), with signature “J. v. Schley direx.” bottom left.
Designer / Iconographic model: after Johan Nieuhof (1618–1672), as stated in the title.
Publisher: Pieter de Hondt
Place: The Hague, Netherlands.
Era: circa 1750.
Technique: copperplate engraving on copper, with etching and aquatint, with manual period coloring not authenticated.
Support: laid paper.
Dimensions: plate 20 × 28 cm; sheet 25 × 37 cm.
Inscription: French title within an ornamental scroll at the top; Dutch title under the view: “Jo-Si-Wo, tuschen Tyen-Tsing-Wey en Peking, getrokken uit Nieuhof.”
Composition: single plate with central editorial fold, taken from the 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

Copperplate engraving of Jo-Si-Wo, a locality situated between Tianjin and Beijing, executed by Jacob van der Schley based on Johan Nieuhof’s iconography and published in the Amsterdam edition of the Histoire générale des voyages.

The composition is organized around a body of water that traverses the town and leads the eye to a walled enclosure in the background. Numerous boats, some with covers and masts, enliven the watercourse, while small groups of figures move along the banks and pause near the buildings.

On the right, a sequence of houses and structures with varied roofs, interspersed with trees; on the left, a strip of cultivated land runs parallel to the riverside path. The broad sky, worked with fine hatching and clouds, gives depth to the scene.

The French title is set within an ornamental scroll suspended at the top, while the Dutch caption runs under the frame. Manual coloring differentiates the waters, vegetation, and architecture, highlighting the perspective structure of the view.

Historical-artistic note

The plate belongs to the European tradition of illustrated travel collections, in which geographic descriptions, observations on customs, and images of places contributed to knowledge of distant territories.

The reference to Johan Nieuhof situates the view within the editorial fortune of representations of China spread through seventeenth-century travel accounts. Their revival in eighteenth-century publications testifies to the persistence of these models in shaping the European imaginary of Asia.

The signature “J. v. Schley direx.” documents Schley’s responsibility in directing the engraving work. The character of the scene is both descriptive and interpretative, with architecture, vegetation, and river activities organized according to the conventions of the European veduta.

Condition Report

Copy in generally good condition, with a clear impression and well-preserved coloring. Vertical central editorial fold and slight warping of the support and sporadic small marginal stains. Wide margins preserved on all four sides. Verso white, with light show-through from the engraving.