Melchisedech Thévenot was a French author, scientist, traveller,

Acquired From: Leen Helmink

Colouring: Uncoloured

Condition: Very Good

Confirmed: No

Dealers ID No.: 19090

Description: Melchisedech Thévenot was a French author, scientist, traveller, cartographer, orientalist, inventor, and diplomat. He was also a tireless scholar with an insatiable curiosity about the world. Among his many achievements, his 1663 publication of Relation de divers voyages curieux stands out as a monumental work that compiled various travel accounts and discoveries from around the world. nOne notable inclusion in this edition is this meticulously crafted map of the East, encompassing regions from Ceylon to Japan. Above the depiction of the Great Wall of China, a Portuguese inscription highlights its scale and purpose: Muro que por entre serras se continua por mais de 360 legoas fi zer iō os Chinas esta taō protentosa obra, pera se defendere e dostartares coquem trazē continua Guerra (A wall that stretches through the mountains for more than 360 leagues. The Chinese built this prodigious work to defend themselves from the Tartars, with whom they are in constant war.)nThe map extends from Ceylon to Japan, including Indonesia, the northern coast of New Guinea, Indochina, Taiwan, the Philippines, China and Japan. It is based on a 1643 manuscript chart by João Teixeira, the Portuguese Royal mapmaker. Thévenot retained the Portuguese nomenclature and faithfully reproduced the toponyms. A scalebar in the southwest corner, measured in Portuguese leagues, is marked with a privilege to the King.

First published: Relation de diverse voyages curieux, Vol. 1. Paris: Jacques Langlois, 1663

Image Size (cm): 67×51

Mapmaker: Thévenot, Melchisédech (1620-1692)

Notes: Purchase details

Primary Category: Sea Charts

References: Suárez (1999), Early Mapping of Southeast Asia, 208, Fig. 121.

Sheet size (cm): 71.5×53

Technique: Copper Engraving

This state: 1683, Fifth

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