“Tartary“ from Marco Polo to the Enlightenment : Exhibition Talk

Changing images of China and Central Asia from Marco Polo to the Enlightenment The talk will describe a selection of the unique library’s Special Collection of printed hand-colored maps of China and Asia now exhibited on the KPS gallery on the library’s first floor. It will show how European maps from 1500 to 1750 represented China and “Tartary”, the part of Asia originally dominated by the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan, starting from Marco Polo’s trip in 1280 and reaching the era of scientific cartography of the 1700s. It will describe different styles of maps and their striking visual features (sea monsters, fantastic city views, comic book-like illustrations). Date: 3 November 2016 Time: 12:00 – 1:30 pm