Catalog Archive
Auction 165, Lot 542

Ortelius' Map of Russia with a Vignette of Ivan the Terrible

"Russiae, Moscoviae et Tartariae Descriptio. Auctore Antonio Ienkensono Anglo...", Ortelius, Abraham

Subject: Russia, Eastern Europe & Central Asia

Period: 1572 (circa)

Publication: Theatrum Orbis Terrarum

Color: Hand Color

Size:
17.8 x 14 inches
45.2 x 35.6 cm
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Fascinating map of Russia and the former Soviet republics from the surveys of the English merchant and adventurer, Anthony Jenkinson, in 1562. Jenkinson was leader of the Muscovy Company's first expedition to Russia and the first European to travel widely throughout the region. Ortelius' map replicates much of the detail and decoration found on the original Jenkinson map complete with extensive notations, illustrations of Cossacks, camels, encampments, armies, and a curious burial scene where the dead are hung from trees. A vignette of Ivan the Terrible appears at top left. French text on verso, published between 1572-74.

References: Van den Broecke #162.

Condition: A

A dark impression on paper with the crossed arrows watermark commonly found on Ortelius maps, very light printer's ink residue, and marginal soiling. There are professional repairs to several tears in the top blank margin and a centerfold separation in the bottom blank margin.

Estimate: $2,000 - $2,300

Sold for: $1,500

Closed on 11/15/2017

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