Namkun. of. ou Nankang.

Title

Namkun. of. ou Nankang.

Description

Decorative view of the city Nanking with off shore ships in the foreground.

ca. 1673

Artist

Ogilby (1600-1676)

John Ogilby was a Scottish translator, impresario and cartographer. Best known for publishing the first British road atlas, he was also a successful translator, noted for publishing his work in handsome illustrated editions. John Ogilby's career as a publisher and printer was gradual. The first editions of his Virgil and Aesop transmissions were published by John and Andrew Crook, both of whom were known for the poor quality of their printed works. His edition of Virgil's works, printed in 1654, was already a splendid volume, of which Ogilby wrote jubilantly that it was "the most beautiful that English printing can boast of so far". Ogilby had financed the printing of the lavish Virgil edition with a method that was hardly known until then, the subscription. To illustrate the work, he had one hundred full-page copperplate engravings made based on designs by the renowned painter Francis Cleyn. Subscribers could then have each individual engraving marked with their name, rank and coat of arms on the lower edge of the picture for a fee and in this way demonstrate their love of art on display. In this way, Ogilby could not only pay for the high manufacturing costs, but also satisfy the vanity of his subscribers. The financing of publishing projects through subscription was still new and little tried at the time - alongside the London publisher Richard Blome, Ogilby was one of the pioneers of subscription in the English publishing business of the 17th century. John Ogilby's -Arnold Montanus (1625-1683) Montanus' De Nieuwe en Onbekende Weereld (The New and Unknown World) appeared in 1673, first published by the Dutch doctor and historian Olfert Dapper (Amsterdam) and later by John Ogilby (Amsterdam) has been. This work is also a treasure trove for materials on America. It contains, among other things, maps of Virginia, Carolina, New England, America (with California as an island), Bermuda, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, Paraguay. The copper engravings include an early view of New York, as well as views of Mexico, Carolina, Terceira, Puerto Rico (Porto Rico), Santo Domingo, Havana, St. Augustine / Florida, St. Martin, Campeche, Acapulco, Cartagena Trujillo in Honduras, Callao de Lima, Bay de Todos os Sanctus in Bahia / Brazil, San Salvador, Tamaraca, Olinda de Phernambuco and Mauritsstaad (Mauritiopolis).

Historical Description

By the 15th century, Beijing had essentially taken its current shape. The Ming city wall continued to serve until modern times, when it was pulled down and the 2nd Ring Road was built in its place. It is generally believed that Beijing was the largest city in the world for most of the 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.The first known church was constructed by Catholics in 1652 at the former site of Matteo Ricci's chapel; the modern Nantang Cathedral was later built upon the same site. The capture of Beijing by Li Zicheng's peasant army in 1644 ended the dynasty, but he and his Shun court abandoned the city without a fight when the Manchu army of Prince Dorgon arrived 40 days later. The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty( the years 1420 to 1912). It is located in the center of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. When Hongwu Emperor's son Zhu Di became the Yongle Emperor, he moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing, and construction began in 1406 on what would become the Forbidden City. Construction lasted 14 years and required more than a million workers. It served as the home of emperors and their households as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government for almost 500 years. The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture, and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. Since 1925 the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties.