Acquired From: Leen Helmink
Colouring: Uncoloured
Condition: Very Good
Confirmed: No
Date Acquired: 28/8/2017
Description: Giacomo Gastaldi was the leading Italian cartographer of the 16th century. In 1548 he created maps for Pietro Andrea Mattioli's Italian translation of Claudius Ptolemys Geographia. This atlas contained sixty double-page maps, including twenty-six ancient or Ptolemaic maps, such as this regional map of Southeast Asia, and thirty-four new or modern maps ( #57). nThe map depicts Southeast Asia as a large peninsula, a representation typical of Ptolemaic geography. To the west is the Ganges River in India, while further east lies Aurea Regio, or the "Kingdom of Gold," which corresponds roughly to present-day Burma. The map also shows the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula and the Himalayas to the north. The mountain range separating Thailand from Burma is described in Ptolemys Geographia (Book 7, Chapter 2) as a place inhabited by tigers, elephants, lions, and "wild men who live in caves, with skins like the hippopotamus, who can easily hurl darts." nBetween India and the Malay Peninsula is a region labeled Bazacata, likely representing the Nicobar Islands. Ptolemy noted that the island's inhabitants, called 'Agmatae,' did not wear clothing. Further south, islands such as Bone Fortune, Maneolae, and Sindae were thought to be inhabited by anthropophagi, or cannibals. Ptolemy believed the Maneolae islands were highly magnetic, warning that ships with metal nails should avoid them, as the magnetic forces could pull out the nails, causing the vessels to sink.nA cartouche on the left side of the map states that India is home to leopards and other wild animals ("habet haec India leopardus et alia atal ferocissima"), with a leopard and an exotic bird illustrated. nCartographically, the map draws on Nicolò Caverios undated manuscript world map (circa 1505). This is evident in features like the triangular shape of the Indian peninsula and the exaggerated length of the Malay Peninsula. The area corresponding to modern-day Iran is labeled Carmania, a term from ancient Greek referring to a province of the Achaemenid Empire, with the Indus River marking the boundary between it and the Indian subcontinent.
Engraver: Gastaldi, Giocomo (d. 1566)
First published: Ptolemeo, Claudius, La geografia di Claudio Ptolemeo alessandrino, con alcuni comenti & aggiunte fatteui da Sebastiano Munstero alamanno, con le tauole non solamente antiche & moderne solite di stamparsi, ma altre nuoue aggiunteui di messer Iacopo Gastaldo piamontese cosmographo, ridotta in uolgare italiano da m. Pietro Andrea Mattiolo senese medico eccellentissimo. Con l'aggiunta d'infiniti nomi moderni, … fatta con grandissima diligenza da esso meser Iacopo Gastaldo, il che in nissun altro Ptolemeo si ritroua. Operueramemte non meno util che necessarid. Venice: Giovanni Baptista Pedrezano, 1548
Image Size (cm): 17.5×13
Mapmaker: Gastaldi, Giocomo (d. 1566)
Notes: Purchase details
Primary Category: Asia
Purchase Reference: Ledger 2022
Rarity: R3 Uncommon – dealers can usually obtain a copy
Sheet size (cm): 20.4 x 16
Technique: Copper Engraving
This state: 1548
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