Miniaturen

Magnificent portolan chart of northern part of South America

Joan Oliva, Italy, c. 1585-1595

This beautiful chart covers the northern part of South America, with coastlines and seas. The latitude scale indicates north/south coverage from 33° S to 25° N. The centre located at a latitude of about 3° S near the mouth of the Amazon River in Brazil. – The Catalan Joan Oliva was the best cartographer of his days. Since sailors and merchants jealously guarded geographic information so as not to endanger their trading monopolies, such charts had limited circulation. As the overall survival rate of historic charts was extremely low, they not often come to the market today. Lavishly heightened with gold and fine decoration, the present chart was part of a de luxe commission.

This map has been sold.

Anfrage

Illuminated manuscript portolan chart, tempera and gold on vellum

525 x 740 mm. – Border with ornaments of alternating blue and red geometric shapes, and red stars on each of the four corners; decorative scale bar in the south-eastern corner.

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Celebrating the age of exploration

Overview

The chart is oriented with North to the top and covers the western part of the South Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, eastern part of the South Pacific Ocean; Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, other Caribbean islands; coasts of South America, southern part of the isthmus of Central America, Western tip of Africa, including Cabo Verde and the Cabo Verde Islands. The most notable features of this chart are the two main river systems Amazon and the Rio del Plata with a large tributary flowing down from northern Brazil, and their island-filled estuaries. The cartography of the coastlines of South America is consistent with the typical cartography of the late sixteenth century. Noteworthy are the two large armorial devices surrounded by gold and headed by a crown, presenting the royal coat of arms of Spain (in fact of the kings of Castile and Leon) in Peru and those of Portugal in Brazil. The seas contain sea monsters and ships under sail, one with two flags with St. Georges Cross, the other with a banner with, perpendicular, five red stripes.

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