Expedition to Asia: Prominent Exchanges between East & West in the 17th Century

The Ming dynasty, situated on the eastern side of the world, underwent disturbances and restlessness during the late Wanli reign and Manchu invasions. War and unrest were followed by the ascendance of the Shunzhi emperor and the establishment of the Qing dynasty. 

After the reigns of the Kangxi and Yongzheng emperors, the Qing Empire entered a period of stability. At the same time, western merchants and missionaries marched further into Asia with unstoppable force. 

They spread from trading bases along the coastline all the way into the royal court. Dutch envoys and missionaries were dominant among western visitors trading with the East, and not only delivered knowledge and merchandise from Asia back to Europe, but also became a messenger. 

This exhibition is based on the journey Dutch envoys took to present themselves to the Qing emperors, and features exquisite artworks collected by the National Palace Museum, the Rijksmuseum from Amsterdam, Netherlands, the Umi-Mori Art Museum, the Museum of Oriental Ceramic, Osaka from Japan, the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Tainan City Government, the National Taiwan University Library, and the Graduate Institute of Art History of National Taiwan University. This story of exchange between the East and West is presented through the joint efforts of these institutions.   

This scroll, made by Qing court painters in the 6th year of the Kangxi reign (1667), is a visual documentation of the diplomatic envoys sent to the Qing court for the second time by the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (V.O.C.) to present tribute.     

Xiyang Qianpu (Seiyō Senpu)
Coins of European Countries
Written by Kutsuki Masatsuna (Ryōkyō), Japan. 


This book is an introduction to over 140 European coins from the 16th to 18th centuries. 

Patterns on both sides of the coins are drawn, followed by explanatory notes, and supplemented with information on geographical location as well as the political and economic status of each country.

Plate with three gods and floral decoration in polychrome colors
Ming dynasty, Wanli reign (1572-1620)

The god in green with his head looking back is Fuxing (Prosperity). 

The 'Sanxing'  (three immortals) theme not only reflects the public’s aspirations and expectations for a good life; it also continues the custom of depicting Daoism and Buddhism in decorations such as auspicious patterns or immortals on porcelains, which first appeared during the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty.    

This scroll portrays the Ming dynasty Wanli Emperor paying homage on Tianshou Mountain at the northern side of Beijing during Spring.     

The Emperor wears a helmet with phoenix-wing decorations and golden fish scale armour with dragonhead ornaments on the shoulders and arms, indicating it is a military suit.

This album consists of gardens and buildings painted in ink and was created by Jiao Bingzhen during the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty. The buildings in the painting have visible differences in proportion to depict distance. 

This painting has a vanishing point outside the image, and the Western visual technique of linear perspective is applied. The composition was used by the later ‘Activities of the Twelve Lunar Year,’ which was painted by a Qing court artist. This is the fifth album leaf.

Lidded jar with intertwined chrysanthemum decoration in underglaze blue 
Qing dynasty, second half of the 17th century to first half of the 18th century

One of the lidded jars in the NPM collection has the same intertwined floral design as this piece. Therefore, the lid of that jar (zongci 2593) possibly belongs to the work shown here, or this piece originally had a lid with similar patterns.