A wide engraving of an imagined imperial courtyard in Beijing, with symmetrical palace buildings, ranks of guards, diplomats, horses, and numbered explanatory captions.

1665 · Copper engraving in a travel account

The interior of the Imperial Court

After Johan Nieuhof; engraved and published by Jacob van Meurs

Why it matters

Nieuhof's account converted a diplomatic journey into a reproducible visual archive. The numbered scene claims documentary precision, yet the publisher's workshop strengthened symmetry, spectacle, and familiar ideas of an exotic court for European buyers.

Publication
Het gezantschap der Neêrlandtsche Oost-Indische Compagnie
Holding institution
Maastricht University Library
Shelfmark
MU RAA 452
Rights
Public-domain work; faithful reproduction marked free of known restrictions

Nieuhof, Johan, and Jacob van Meurs. 't Keysers Hof van binnen, in Het gezantschap der Neêrlandtsche Oost-Indische Compagnie. Amsterdam, 1665. Maastricht University Library, MU RAA 452.