Beijing

4 large woodcuts on Chinese paper joined to form a single sheet (110 x 126.5cm; image area 97 x 120.5cm), minor restoration and repairs to printed area, some restoration to upper blank margin, strengthened along outer blank margin and along folds

cf. Li Xiaocong. A descriptive catalogue of pre-1900 Chinese maps seen in Europe (Beijing, 1996, Chinese and English text); cf. Su Pinhong (ed.) Beijing in Ancient Maps (Beijing: National Library of China & Surveying and Mapping Press, 2010, Chinese and English text), pp.124-125, and pp.170-171; cf. Richard A. Pegg Cartographic Traditions in East Asian Maps (MacLean Collection & University of Hawai'i, 2014), pp.42-47

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A VERY RARE LARGE AND DETAILED MAP OF BEIJING, of which we can trace no other copy in the National Library of China, the Library of Congress, the British Library, nor the National Library of France.

This Chinese diagrammatic map shows the inner and outer cities of the capital, including hutongs, temples, palaces, gardens, rivers, wells, bridges, and city gates all clearly labelled. The map is undated and is likely based on an earlier prototype, as is often with Chinese maps, and this one is probably based on one from the Ming Dynasty, as it does not show the Lama Temple (Yonghe Temple), which was started in 1694 and completed in the first half of the eighteenth century.

A recent publication by the National Library of China, Beijing in Ancient Maps (Beijing, 2010), documents similar, but smaller, or much smaller, maps of Beijing, e.g. 'Map of the Capital' (pp.124-125), woodblock map (99 x 64cm.), Jiaqing Period (1796-1820), Qing Dynasty; and a 'Map of the capital with the Inner City' (pp.170-171), lithograph (53 x 52.5cm.), about 1870.

This map is also similar to a couple of maps in the British Library, one of which, Maps 61520.(1), is dated by Li Xiaocong to between 1736 and 1820.

An almost identical plan, but with a different title and with differently cut Chinese characters, is in the MacLean Collection and illustrated in Cartographic Traditions in East Asian Maps (pp. 44-45). It is titled 'Jingshi xuntian [i.e. Shuntian] neiwai quantu' (Complete Map of the Inner and Outer (Districts) of Xuntian (Prefecture) of the Metropolitan Area), the image measures 102 x 106cm., and the whole sheet 208 x 134cm.