Catalog Archive
Auction 165, Lot 626

Forlani's Rare View of Constantinople

"Costantinopoli", Forlani, Paolo de

Subject: Istanbul, Turkey

Period: 1567 (dated)

Publication: De' Disegni delle Piu Illustri Citta, et Fortezze del Mondo

Color: Black & White

Size:
10.1 x 7.4 inches
25.7 x 18.8 cm
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This very rare bird's-eye view of Constantinople shows the city across the strategic Bosphorus Strait that is filled with ships. The detailed view depicts the streets and buildings throughout the city, with a lettered key at bottom identifying over 50 important locations. A large compass rose orients north to the top right. Italian and Greek text on verso. This plan is by Forlani, one of the leading cartographers of the Lafreri-School, and published in Giulio Ballino's De'Disegni delle Piu Illustri Citta, et Fortezze del Mondo in 1569. The Lafreri-School was not actually a school, but a group of cartographers, mapmakers, engravers and publishers who worked in the major Italian publishing centers of Rome and Venice, from about 1544 to 1585.

References: Shirley (BL Atlases) T.BALL-1a #42.

Condition: B+

Light soiling with a minor crease adjacent to the centerfold and remnants of hinge tape on verso.

Estimate: $1,600 - $1,900

Sold for: $950

Closed on 11/15/2017

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