Engraved by J.B. Allen (British, 1803–1876)
The Bridge of Nanking, 1850
Hand-colored engraving on paper
Miami University Art Museum purchase
2019.15.2
Thomas Allom’s print depicts the city of Nanking (Nanjing) from the perspective of a boat on the Qinhuai River, a tributary of the Yangzi River. The First Opium War resulted in treaties with the British forcing China to open more trading ports with the West. After this, Western curiosity about this foreign land skyrocketed, and images of these new parts of China were in high demand. Travel journals offered readers at home access to new lands, and included topographical prints claimed to be drawn from life. Allom was known for this genre, having previously illustrated books on Turkey, Syria, and Italy. This print shows busy river trade in China as well as the iconic porcelain tower of Nanking, which was featured strongly in the Western imagination of China, and is included in many other prints by Allom as well as the neighboring nautical map.