COLLECTION OF SEVENTEEN ENGRAVINGS, France, late 18th century

1765 the Qianlong-Emperor commissioned a set of copper engravings in France to commemorate his successful campaigns in Central Asia between 1755-59. The European artists (and Jesuits) at the court in Beijing - Giuseppe Castiglione, Jean Damascene, Jean-Denis Attiret and Ignatius Sichelbarth - were in charge for the draft paintings, which were sent to Paris for engraving. Since the few copies of these prints were reserved for the French court and the interest for the Chinese culture was immense, Isidore Stanislas Helman (1743-1806?), a renowned engraver of the time, copied these engravings in a reduced size and added also engravings after Chinese paintings to the album. 

十七幅描绘乾隆盛世版画，法国，十八世纪末