Ortelius map of Japan engraved 25 years later

SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA, 1603 "Indiae Orientalis, Insularumque Adiacientium Typus," from the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum of Abraham Ortelius, 1603 Latin edition The seller, *regiomontanus*, provides useful commentary that is reproduced here with only slight editing: "This scarce and important original map of East Asia (49.5 x 35 cm copperplate engraving, 54 x 40.5 cm sheet size, later hand colour, Antwerp, circa 1603) comes from the 1603 Latin edition of the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum of Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598), the first true atlas in the modern sense. It was one of the most famous and influential maps published in the Theatrum. Ortelius drew upon earlier maps by Mercator, as well as the accounts of Marco Polo and Antonio Pigafetti, a survivor of Magellan's circumnavigation. The map provides a fascinating snapshot of a part of the world just starting to be understood in the great age of exploration, and the flamboyant decorative elements understandably make it one of the most celebrated and sought-after of all Ortelius maps. The handsome title cartouche announces the region described as the "East Indies and surrounding islands." Many of the ornate cartouches used by Ortelius

Date

1595–1603

Mapmaker / publisher

Abraham Ortelius

Place

Japan

Archive

Wikimedia Commons

Type

map

Original size

865 × 650 pixels

Need maps for a whole project? Add Find Any Map to Claude and ask for this one by its id: 240309.