Credit: © The Royal Society
Image number: RS.6189
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A method of Chinese writing
Date
1669
Creator
Wenceslaus Hollar (1607 - 1677, Bohemian) , Engraver
Object type
Library reference
56950
Material
Technique
Dimensions
height (print): 104mm
width (print): 160mm
width (print): 160mm
Subject
Art & culture
Politics & Government
> Political doctrines
> Slavery
Politics & Government
> Political doctrines
> Colonialism
Politics & Government
> Political doctrines
> Slavery
Politics & Government
> Political doctrines
> Colonialism
Content object
Description
A figure stands at table and writes on a piece of parchment with a brush; a monkey sits on the floor in the foreground.
Inscribed above: ‘The Manner of Writing.’
Plate from the book An embassy from the East-India Company of the United Provinces to the Grand Tartar Cham, Emperour of China...., by John Nieuhoff (London, 1669).
John Nieuhoff (1618-1672), Dutch traveller, was appointed steward of the mission to China under Peter van Goyer and Jacob van Keyser, ambassadors of the Dutch East India Company.
The Dutch East India Copmany (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, VOC) was an amalgamation of Dutch trading companies established in 1602 to trade with India, where the majority of Europe’s cotton and silk originated from. It began operating in South Asia, and over the next century expanded its colonial operations to Mauritius and South Africa.
It is known to have made use of slave labour from early on. Laurens Real, the Governor-General in the East Indies from 1615-1619, first introduced slave labour into the nutmeg plantations on Amboina in the East Indies, and his successor, Jan Pieterzoon Coen (1619-1623 and 1627-1629) introduced it in the remaining of VOC settlements.
Inscribed above: ‘The Manner of Writing.’
Plate from the book An embassy from the East-India Company of the United Provinces to the Grand Tartar Cham, Emperour of China...., by John Nieuhoff (London, 1669).
John Nieuhoff (1618-1672), Dutch traveller, was appointed steward of the mission to China under Peter van Goyer and Jacob van Keyser, ambassadors of the Dutch East India Company.
The Dutch East India Copmany (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, VOC) was an amalgamation of Dutch trading companies established in 1602 to trade with India, where the majority of Europe’s cotton and silk originated from. It began operating in South Asia, and over the next century expanded its colonial operations to Mauritius and South Africa.
It is known to have made use of slave labour from early on. Laurens Real, the Governor-General in the East Indies from 1615-1619, first introduced slave labour into the nutmeg plantations on Amboina in the East Indies, and his successor, Jan Pieterzoon Coen (1619-1623 and 1627-1629) introduced it in the remaining of VOC settlements.
Associated place