Al gioco cinese chiamato il Rompicapo
CHF 2,496.00
Sale price
CHF 2,496.00
Regular price
Skip to product information
or ask us a question
or ask us a question
An ironic take on the European craze for the Chinese tangram, with 12 hand-colored plates
Anonymous (attr. Giraud, Giovanni)
Al gioco cinese chiamato il Rompicapo
On the Chinese Game Called the Tangram. With an appendix of figures representing the alphabet, the nine Arabic numerals, men, animals, houses, carriages, boats, urns, vases, and other domestic furnishings, preceded by a discourse on the Tangram and China
1818, Milano (Milan), Pietro e Giuseppe Vallardi
First Edition
CHF 2,496.00
Sale price
CHF 2,496.00
Regular price
Overview
In 8vo. Pp. 1-34, [4], 35-38, [4], 39; 12 plates
First edition of this rare book, historically significant as a very early Italian publication dedicated to the Tangram, the famous seven-piece Chinese dissection puzzle (the very first book on the subject was published in Italy the previous year). The little volume was published in Milan in the same year as a Florentine edition, which appears to have sepia-toned engraved plates rather than the pastel hand-colored ones found in the present Milan copy. The two editions differ in pagination, as noted by comparison with the digitized Florence copy available online (Internet Archive). The comparison also confirms that the pages headed "Tavola" begin with Tavola V (5): plates 1-4 reproduce the alphabet and therefore do not require explanatory Tavole. In the present copy, the Tavole are bound within the text rather than within the sequence of illustrated plates. In the catalogue entry for the Florentine copy presently offered by Peter Harrington, the Milan edition is described as "surfacing slightly less regularly" than the Florentine one, with the observation that "At auction, Florentine copies have appeared three times (...) and one Milanese is recorded." No priority between the two editions has been established when copies have previously surfaced on the market. The European Tangram craze of the early nineteenth century manifested itself in Italy not only as a passion for the puzzle but also as a vehicle for satire. This figure album turns the seven-piece "Rompicapo" or "Testa-rotta" (Tangram) into a display of chinoiserie, mock erudition, and social comedy. Issued anonymously and commonly attributed to a Roman playwright, it frames the game with a witty discourse on progress, Chinese customs, and European manners, then treats the seven geometric pieces composing the puzzle as an alphabet of comic invention.
Inside the book
The title announces Tangram figures representing the alphabet, the nine Arabic numerals, men, beasts, houses, coaches, boats, urns, vases, and other domestic furnishings, preceded by an introductory discourse on the game Rompicapo and on China, where it originated. The introduction is particularly interesting, being an often ironic essay that contextualizes the game's sudden popularity in Europe. Employing an Orientalist literary device, it playfully critiques the Western obsession with fashionable novelties while presenting the Tangram as a window into Chinese culture, patience, and philosophy. The text cites George Macartney and his historic 1793 diplomatic mission to the Qianlong Emperor, effectively the first British embassy to China. Although the mission failed to secure expanded trade, it fascinated Europe through the detailed journals that described Chinese society and court life. It also mentions Lorenzo Magalotti, whose publication of early seventeenth-century accounts of China is invoked to lend intellectual authority to the puzzle and to demonstrate that Western fascination with Chinese learning had deep roots. The illustrations form the heart of the book, and they are arranged as an appendix of figures, providing the models that readers are invited to recreate with their seven Tangram pieces. Their captions (in the "Tavole" interrupting the text pagination) are particularly engaging, including Kneeling Eunuch, Back-Bending Flatterer, Urn Containing the Ashes of Confucius, Meditating Philosopher, Rowing Duck, Aerostatic Mummy, Scholar Giving Birth to His Work, Robe of the Emperor Wu Wang, and Steam Carriage (in the original Italian: Eunuco genuflettente, Adulatore dorso-curvante, Urna delle ceneri di Confucio, Filosofo meditante, Anatra remigante, Mummia aereostatica, Letterato che partorisce l'opera, Tunica dell'Imperatore Vou-vang, and Vettura a vapore).
Condition
Original orange printed wrappers, worn; spine rubbed, upper wrapper chipped. Untrimmed, wide-margined paper with minor marginal foxing and light toning. Some modern internal reinforcements at the inner margin with Japanese paper, well executed and not affecting the illustrations. Twelve plates, hand-colored in yellow, pink, blue, and green watercolor by a contemporary hand. Extremely rare ephemeral booklet, overall in good condition.
Dimensions (inches): 8 1/2 x 5 3/4 x 1/4
Why La Fenice likes it
We have a weakness for books that refuse to choose between play and erudition. Part puzzle book, part tongue-in-cheek essay on Europe's fascination with China, this delightful Tangram manual rewards both the hands and the imagination. And then there are the irresistible (although cryptic) figures: a Kneeling Eunuch, a Back-Bending Flatterer, even a Scholar Giving Birth to His Work. Who could resist?
About the author
Giovanni Giraud (1776-1834), attributed author; Roman comic playwright and librettist.
From the Same Shelf