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Auction 160, Lot 703

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"[Lot of 2] Carte de l'Entree de la Riviere de Canton Dressee sur les Observations les Plus Recentes [and] Plan de la Ville et du Port de Macao", Bellin, Jacques Nicolas

Subject: Macao, China

Period: 1748 (circa)

Publication: Prevost's Histoire Generale des Voyages

Color: Hand Color

Size:
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A. Carte de l'Entree de la Riviere de Canton Dressee sur les Observations les Plus Recentes (8.1 x 10.2"). This copper engraved map centers on the mouth of the Canton River with the island of Macao and the future site of Hong Kong, here called Sinn-gan-hien. The fortified city of Canton is divided into Tartar and Chinese districts. Soundings and anchorages are shown and the map is decorated with a cartouche, rhumb lines, and fleur-de-lis. "Tom. V. No. 16" at lower right outside the neatline. Condition: Issued folding on watermarked paper with faint offsetting.

B. Plan de la Ville et du Port de Macao (6.6 x 8.3"). Copper engraved plan of city and harbor of Macao, an important Portuguese trading post and center of activity for Catholic missionaries. The city is shown as several blocks of buildings with the fort adjacent and located at the top of a hill. Also locates the cannon battery labeled St. Jacques et St. Philippe, the Chinese village, a Pagoda, the Jesuit monastery on Green Island (I.Verte), and the military battery across the harbor. Macao was earlier an island connected to the mainland by a narrow sand bar that eventually filled in, converting Macao to a peninsula as shown here. Macao was administered by Portugal for 442 years until 1999 and today enjoys a semi-autonomous relationship with China, similar to Hong Kong. "Tom. V. No. 17" at lower right outside the neatline. Condition: Watermarked paper with a faint crease at lower left and light toning along sheet edges.

References:

Condition: B+

See description above.

Estimate: $220 - $250

Sold for: $26

Closed on 11/16/2016

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