Catalog Archive
Auction 156, Lot 647

"Tartaria sive Magni Chami Imperiorum", Merian, Matthaus

Subject: Northern Asia

Period: 1646 (circa)

Publication: Newe Archontologia Cosmica

Color: Hand Color

Size:
13.8 x 10.6 inches
35.1 x 26.9 cm
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A deftly engraved map based on Blaeu's map of Tartaria and northern China with information that was compiled by the English and Dutch explorers as well as the reports of Marco Polo and the Greek classics. Tiny devils and dragons frolic in the desert outside the Great Wall and numerous notes fill the unexplored regions. The decorative features of the map are also similar to Blaeu's; the title is symbolically engraved onto the saddle blanket of a camel, representing the trade over the Silk Road.

References:

Condition: A

A nice impression on watermarked paper with attractive color and marginal soiling.

Estimate: $350 - $425

Unsold

Closed on 2/17/2016

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