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Magnificent Blaeu Wall Map of Asia
Asia/ Wall Map.
BLAEU, W./ TODESCHI, P. [Bologna, 1673]
Nova Et Acurata Totius Asiae Tabula, auct: Blaeu.
40 x 55 inches
Entirely original color; restored area in lower center, roughly 2x 5 inches, relatively minor restoration upper and lower extremities, else fully intact; full modern conservation with paper expertly re-mounted on new linen; excellent of this kind; framed in archivally correct manner with U-V filtering plexi-glass.
Extremely rare; separately published. Among the most majestic productions of the 17th century were the wall maps of Willem Blaeu. "They were worthy companions of the art masterpieces with which they shared the interiors of Dutch homes and public buildings." (Ristow) The pride of place that wall maps claimed in Dutch homes is most eloquently presented in a half-dozen or so of the exquisite paintings of Vermeer. Blaeu's wall maps were also cartographically significant: they served as the models for his well-known atlas maps of the continents, which were issued in numerous editions and are among the most popular collected maps today.
The market for Blaeu's wall maps extended well beyond the Netherlands. Their desirability can be seen in the fact that very accurate re-engravings of his maps rather than competing, locally produced versions were published in both Italy and France. In fact, three different versions of the Blaeu continental maps were produced in Italy: a set in Venice by Scolari in 1646; in Bologna in 1673 by Todeschi (the present map being an example); and a set by De Rossi in Rome in 1669-70 (but without borders). Schilder (p. 195) praises in particular the accuracy with which the maps of this Bologna edition were engraved, and indeed they are difficult to distinguish from the Dutch edition. Schilder further observes that the known examples of these maps "are often in very poor condition," making the map offered here all the more exceptional. More typical of surviving examples are the fragmented copies illustrated in A la Carte on pages 66-7 and 72-3. Despite the evident popularity of Blaeu's wall maps in Italy, the Italian editions, like all others, are of extreme rarity, and especially so in the condition of the present pair.
Blaeu (along with Hondius) pioneered the use of decorative border vignettes in his wall maps. The side panels depicting the gentry of several nations are notable for the fine detailing of their garments. In the Dutch editions of the maps, these figures were etched by the great mapmaker, Hessel Gerritsz. Schilder points out that only a few of the sources for the figures on both the Europe and Asia maps are known. The question of the sources for the figures from the Far East is especially intriguing given Gerritsz' close acquaintance with this area as chief cartographer of the Dutch East India Company. On the Asia map, among the figures are from Japan, China, and several from the prized Spice Islands.
While most of the city plans and views on the Asia map are derived from Braun and Hogenberg, some are from Linschoten, and the Jerusalem is yet from another source, the Laicksteen-Sgrothen plan. For Aden, Ormus, Cany and Calicut the sources are unknown. Demonstrating that the map was also to be of practical use as well as a fine wall decoration, the diagram and text on the left side of the Asia map explain how with a compass the user would be able to calculate the distance between two points on the map.
Schilder, G. Monumenta Cartographica Neerlandica V, pp. 195-99; W. W. Ristow in A la Carte, pp. 63-75. |
