Chinese Musical Instruments – Set of Three Ferrario Hand-Colored Engravings, 1815
A rare early nineteenth-century hand-coloured copperplate engraving from Giulio Ferrario’s celebrated ethnographic publication Il Costume Antico e Moderno di Tutti i Popoli (Ancient and Modern Costumes of All Peoples), published in Milan circa 1815. This finely detailed plate presents a visual survey of traditional Chinese musical instruments, combining artistic refinement with documentary intent and reflecting Europe’s growing fascination with Chinese culture during the period of Chinoiserie and early global ethnography.
The engraving illustrates a diverse array of classical instruments associated with court, ceremonial, theatrical, and scholarly traditions of Qing dynasty China. Among the identifiable instruments are the pipa (琵琶), the iconic pear-shaped lute central to classical repertoire; the ruan (阮) and yueqin (月琴), round-bodied lutes used...
Category
Antique Early 19th Century Italian Prints