Beschreibung:

Xing Tu [Celestial Map]. China, Qing dynasty, ca. 1907. A large manuscript Chinese celestial map. In China, the twelve Jupiter stations were correlated with the twelve ancient States of China, and used to interpret celestial omens and predict events in various regions of the country. Reference: J.B. Harley and D. Woodward (eds), The History of Cartography, vol. II, part ii (1994), pp.586-590. Manuscript circular celestial map, ink on printed grid, approximately 1090 x 1080 mm overall, constituted of four joint strips, mounted with silk as a hanging scroll on lacquered wooden roller, a title slip on the mounting with the title Tiangogn Tu (Map/Painting of the Heavenly Palaces), 2155 x 1155 mm with the mounting. Elaborate texts in Chinese both along the three-layered perimeter recording observations and various lunar lodges and texts inside the circle annotating names of star, map drawn on radial grids in red, the milky way crossing vertically through the paper is colored in pale blue. (Creasing, restoration to old holes and creasing damage using facsimile, especially at the lower section of the third strip, the center of the map and along the seams of the adjoining strips; some staining at the upper section; browned.) Please note that this lot is subject to an import tariff. If the buyer instructs Christie’s to arrange shipping of the lot to a foreign address, the buyer will not be required to pay the import tariff. If the buyer instructs Christie’s to arrange shipping of the lot to a domestic address, if the buyer collects the property in person, or if the buyer arranges their own shipping (whether domestically or internationally), the buyer will be required to pay the import tariff. Please contact Post Sale Services on +1 212 636 2650 prior to bidding for more information. Please note this lot is the property of a private individual.