Tabula Asiae XI

Acquired From: Leen Helmink

Colouring: Uncoloured

Condition: Excellent

Confirmed: No

Date Acquired: 08/09/2022

Dealers ID No.: 19121

Description: Sebastian Münster was a German mapmaker, cosmographer and professor of Hebrew at the University of Basel. Among his notable works was the Latin edition of Claudius Ptolemys Geography, first published in Basel in 1540. This edition featured twenty-seven Ptolemaic maps, including Tabula Asiae XI, and twenty-one modern maps. Münsters Geography was subsequently reprinted in Latin in 1542, 1545, and 1552. nThis eleventh map of Asia (Tabula Asiae XI) from the 1552 edition of Geography reflects the second-century understanding of the Indian Ocean and its adjacent regions. The Sinus Gangeticus (Bay of Bengal) is depicted on the map's western side, while the Sinus Magnus (Great Gulf or Pacific Ocean) appears on the eastern side.nThe map illustrates India extra Gangem (Southeast Asia beyond the Ganges River), encompassing areas corresponding to present-day Myanmar, Thailand, and parts of Indochina. It also extends northward to the Himalayas (India beyond the Ganges), westward into parts of India intra Gangem (India within the Ganges), referring to regions of the Indian subcontinent, and eastward to Sina (China). nMünster enhances the map with an inset panel on the left, listing place names such as "Samba," "Berabona," "Begynga," and "Perimula," providing textual references for the locations depicted. These names reflect Ptolemaic geographic knowledge as interpreted by Münster. Above the panel Münster also depicted an image of a tiger, a bearded rooster, and a parrot perched on a tree branch. Accompanied by a descriptive note, these elements serve both as geographical markers and as representations of the exotic fauna associated with the regions illustrated on the map.

First published: Geographia universalis, vetus et nova complectens Claudii Ptolemaei Alexandrini enarrationis libros VIII, Basel: Heinrich Petri, 1540

Image Size (cm): 33.8×25

Mapmaker: Münster, Sebastian (1488-1552)

Notes: Purchased with #364

Other states: In subsequent editions of Geographia in 1541, 1542, and 1545

Price: 400

Primary Category: Asia

Rarity: R4 Common – often seen on the market

Sheet size (cm): 38.8×32

Technique: Woodcut

This state: 1552, Fourth

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