De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas suscepta ab Societate Jesu - photo 1

De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas suscepta ab Societate Jesu

Starting price
$ 100
Auction dateClassic
02.02.2024 10:00UTC -04:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
USA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1129800
Lot 180 | De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas suscepta ab Societate Jesu
RICCI, Matteo (1552-1610) – Nicolas TRIGAULT (1577-1628), editor. De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas suscepta ab Societate Jesu. Ex P. Matthaei Ricii eiusdem societatis comentariis libri V ad S.D.N. Paulum V. In quibus Sinensis Regni mores leges atq. instituta & noua[e] illius ecclesiae difficillima primordia accurate & summa fide describuntur. Auctore P. Nicolao Trigautio. Augsburg: Christoph Mang, 1615.

Very rare first edition of the most influential Western description of China since the 13th-century account by Marco Polo.

“The appearance of Trigault's book in 1615 took Europe by surprise. It reopened the door to China, which was first opened by Marco Polo, three centuries before, and then closed behind him by an incredulous public, who received the greater part of his fabulous narrative as the beguiling tales of a capricious traveler. [It] probably had more effect on the literary and scientific, the philosophical and the religious phases of life in Europe than any other historical volume on the 17th century ... It opened a new world” (Gallagher, China in the sixteenth century; the journals of Matteo Ricci, pp. xvii-ix).

Trigault was born at Douai in 1577 and joined the Jesuits when he was 17 or 18 years old. After spending a decade teaching in the Society's colleges, he petitioned to be sent as a missionary to the 'Indies', finally securing passage in 1607. He seems to have arrived in China in about 1610, and was in charge of the mission in three provinces. At this time, the Japan mission, founded by Francis Xavier (1506-1552), overshadowed that of their brethren in China; but Trigault was part of a band of missionaries that, through Matteo Ricci's (1552-1610) influence and diplomacy, had managed to obtain prestige in the Ming empire by becoming the first westerners to learn Mandarin and offer new forms of knowledge to the Chinese elite. Seeing the need to promote their cause and secure better patronage in the Society's hierarchy, the China Jesuits decided to send Trigault back home and entrust him with the sensitive task of bringing attention to their successes in China.

Back in Rome, Trigault was fêted as a celebrity, no doubt helped by the artefacts he had brought with him, and undertook a lengthy continental promotion tour lasting some four years. Part of Trigault's approach was to publish the manuscript memoirs of Ricci from Italian into Latin. By 1614 he had completed this task, amending the contents to include an account of the latter's death and funeral, and published it in 1615 while travelling through Augsburg. The folding plate illustrates Ricci's tomb in Beijing – an exceptional burial for a westerner granted by the Ming emperor Wanli (1563-1620). Cordier Sinica I, 809; De Backer & Sommervogel VIII, 239; Lust 836; Morrison II, 466; Streit V:2094.

Quarto (190 x 147mm). With final blank leaf. Engraved title-page by Wolfgang Kilian (1581-1662) illustrating the Jesuit missionaries Francis Xavier and Matteo Ricci flanking a map of China, folding engraved plate with diagram of Ricci's tomb in China (short closed tears into text in a3-4 and 3T1, small marginal wormholes throughout affecting some shoulder notes, minor marginal dampstaining). Early vellum over stiff boards (rebacked preserving most of spine, lightly marked, lacking ties, two tiny wormholes). Provenance: Benedictine Monastery of Weingarten (inscription on title dated 1616) – faint early inscription on endpaper – traces of removed bookplate on front pastedown.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
26.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
27.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
28.01.2024 13:00 – 17:00
29.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
30.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
31.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.