Artwork Page for Print of Xu Gate and the City Moat

Details / Information for Print of Xu Gate and the City Moat

胥門護城河畔圖

1736–95
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Southeast China, Suzhou, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong reign

(1736–95)
Medium
Multicolor woodblock print; ink and color on paper, printed in black, later hand colored, possibly in Europe
Measurements
Diameter: 24.3 cm (9 9/16 in.); Sheet: 27.4 x 30.2 cm (10 13/16 x 11 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2025.86
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

Woodblock printing in color reached a height in China in the 1600s to 1700s. The prints were executed by means of sets o separate blocks, each carved to print a different color.

Description

Designed with an innovative perspective, as if the viewer is looking at the scenes through a camera lens, this round print shows the scenery and arch of Xu Gate, part of the city wall, in the west of Suzhou. The location was traditionally frequented at the lantern festival during New Year celebrations in early spring. The print thus combined multiple selling points: it could be sold to locals as New Year prints, as souvenirs to tourists, and as curious images of China to agents from overseas.
A circular woodblock print with muted colors depicts a river scene. On the left, a tall stone wall rises beside a red wooden gateway. Figures with light skin tones traverse the green foreground. A wide river in the middle ground carries boats toward a stone bridge on the right. In the background, mountains sit under a sky featuring rows of flying birds and Chinese calligraphy. Finely rendered lines delineate the architecture and rolling mountain terrain.

Print of Xu Gate and the City Moat

1736–95

Southeast China, Suzhou, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong reign (1736–95)

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