Details
MARTINI, Martinus (1614-1661). Sinicae historiae decas prima. Amsterdam: Johannes Blaeu, 1659.
8o (152 x 96 mm). (Some slight marginal worming.) Contemporary vellum (lightly soiled). Provenance: Marquis de Courtenvaux (ink stamp on title and 2C6v); Lord Macartney (bookplate); Sir Thomas Phillipps (shelfmark); Philip Robinson (his sale part II, Sotheby's London, 22 November 1988, lot 97).
FIRST EDITION. Johannes Blaeu used the text of this work to accompany his atlas devoted to China. Martini, born in Trento and a student at Rome under Kircher, had embarked for the Indies in 1640 with Hieronimo Lobo and other missionaries. He entered China in 1643 and travelled as far north as the Great Wall. After a difficult return journey, Martini went to Amsterdam to assist Blaeu in the production of his Atlas Sinensis. Returning then to Rome, he conferred with the College of Cardinals on the question of Chinese Rites and obtained a favorable decree from Pope Alexander VII in 1656. He returned to China and stayed there until his death in 1661. Cordier Sinica 580; Lust 412.
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FIRST EDITION. Johannes Blaeu used the text of this work to accompany his atlas devoted to China. Martini, born in Trento and a student at Rome under Kircher, had embarked for the Indies in 1640 with Hieronimo Lobo and other missionaries. He entered China in 1643 and travelled as far north as the Great Wall. After a difficult return journey, Martini went to Amsterdam to assist Blaeu in the production of his Atlas Sinensis. Returning then to Rome, he conferred with the College of Cardinals on the question of Chinese Rites and obtained a favorable decree from Pope Alexander VII in 1656. He returned to China and stayed there until his death in 1661. Cordier Sinica 580; Lust 412.