Chinese and Southeast Asian Works of Art

24 volumes, 425 x 270 mm. Woodcut illustrations of objects and inscriptions, notes and dimensions. Volumes 1-22 containing bronzes, with the coin supplement bound in volumes 23-24. Bookplate: Mills College Library. Gift of the Rockefeller Foundation. Paper leaves with stitch binding.

A nineteenth century printing of the catalogue of the ritual bronzes in the collections of the Qianlong Emperor, first published in 1793 by his commission of 1,594 bronzes. During the Guangxu period, the Qing court sent an embassy to Japan, who saw a private printing of the work, whereupon officials in China raised funds to purchase the 96 boxes of plates from Japan, from which a printing was finally sent in 1893 back to the court. 

洛克菲勒舊藏《西清古鑒四十卷 附錢錄十六卷》
清光緒十四年（1888）邁宋書館銅版印本
白紙24冊

《西清》原是乾隆帝命梁詩正等近臣將內府庋藏青銅器分門別類，仿效《宣和博古圖》和呂氏《考古圖》輯成的圖錄，歷時三年始成。全書含銅器1529件，一圖一文，銘文鉤摹，方圓圍徑、高廣輕重皆有注釋。另有《錢錄》收有古泉567枚，繪圖精審，毫厘不失。

銅版本據乾隆殿本影刻而成，開本闊達，形神皆同。首頁記題“光緒十四年邁宋書館在日本銅鐫”——這不是日本書局的風格，但邁宋書館向無資料，如今普遍認爲是中國書賈或藏書樓委托日人刻製，刻成後因故未能取回銅板，后被日本書商私印。

光緒年閒，清廷出使日本的參贊陳明遠看到書商私刻的《西清古鑒》，無力購買，遂告知廣東士紳劉學詢。劉積極籌款，最終從東洋購回全套銅板九十六箱，刷印傳播。後來，劉學詢通過安徽巡撫沈慕，於光緒十九年(1893)春天呈進黃綾裝訂的印樣一部，最終獻板于宮内。

本套《銅版西清》出自加州奧克蘭市著名的密爾斯文理學院，是洛克菲勒基金會贈予該校的禮物，每冊扉頁鈐有洛氏基金會印章，附藏書票，書後則貼有圖書館的卡片，意義非凡，值得珍藏。