Print of Xu Gate and the City Moat (1736–95): Art, History and Details

Print of Xu Gate and the City Moat (1736–95) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

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.

Object facts

• Title: Print of Xu Gate and the City Moat
• Date: 1736–95
• Culture: Southeast China, Suzhou, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong reign (1736–95)
• Type: Print
• Technique: Multicolor woodblock print; ink and color on paper, printed in black, later hand colored, possibly in Europe
• Dimensions: Diameter: 24 cm (9 7/16 in.); Sheet: 27.8 x 30.3 cm (10 15/16 x 11 15/16 in.)
• Collection: China - Qing Dynasty
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 2025.85

A detail from the museum

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

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.