Acquired From: Leen Helmink
Colouring: Coloured
Condition: Good
Confirmed: No
Date Acquired: 10/04/2023
Dealers ID No.: 19175
Description: Sebastian Münster was a German mapmaker, cosmographer and professor of Hebrew at the University of Basel. Among his publications was a Latin edition of Claudius Ptolemys Geographia, first published in Basel in 1540. This edition included twenty-seven Ptolemaic maps and twenty-one modern maps.nFour years later, in 1544, Münster produced Cosmographey oder beschreibung aller Länder (commonly known by its Latin title Cosmographia universalis), an expansive and comprehensive work that incorporated a blend of geographical, historical, and cultural content. Initially published in German in 1544, it was later translated into Latin (1550) and French (1552) becoming one of the most widely read books of the sixteenth century.nFollowing Münsters death in 1552, his stepson Henric Petri continued to publish editions of the Cosmographia universalis until his own death in 1579. Subsequently, the publishing business passed to Sebastian Petri, who in 1588 commissioned a new set of woodblocks for the Cosmographia. The revised edition incorporated updated maps, many of which were based on Abraham Orteliuss groundbreaking 1570 atlas.nThis map of Sumatra featured in the 1592 German edition of Cosmographia universalis. Titled "Sumatra, a large island formerly known as Taprobana by ancient geographers," it depicts the island of Sumatra, parts of the Malay Peninsula (roughly modern-day Malaysia), and portions of Java and the Sunda Strait. nIn the sixteenth century there was considerable confusion surrounding the identification of Taprobana. While commonly associated with present-day Sri Lanka from the fifteenth century onward it was frequently linked to Sumatra. The bottom-right corner of the map includes an image of a mahout riding an elephant, above which appears a German quotation discussing classical references to Taprobana, including mentions of Pliny and the expeditions of Alexander the Great.nOn the verso beneath a decorative cartouche, is the text: Taprobana. Taprobane der Insel Beschreibung so in dem Indianschen Meere ist gelegen. rriij. (The description of Taprobana, an island located in the Indian Ocean).
First published: Cosmographei oder beschreibung aller länder…, Vol. 6. Basel: Sebastian Petri, 1588
Image Size (cm): 36×31
Mapmaker: Münster, Sebastian (1488-1552)
Notes: Purchase details
Other states: First 1588 German
Price: 800
Primary Category: Southeast Asia
Purchase Reference: Ledger
Rarity: R1 Extremely rare – occasionally seen on the market
Sheet size (cm): 40.5×33
Technique: Woodcut
This state: 1592, Second
Website: Click here
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