Catalog Archive
Auction 166, Lot 622

Scarce Map of Eastern Mediterranean & Middle East

"Lumen Historiarum per Orientem...", Ortelius, Abraham

Subject: Eastern Mediterranean & Middle East

Period: 1624 (published)

Publication: Theatri Orbis Terrarum Parergon

Color: Hand Color

Size:
13.4 x 10.5 inches
34 x 26.7 cm
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Beautifully engraved map of the region from the eastern Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf based on the work of Frans van Haren. The map extends through Turkey and the Caucasus to include the region north of the Black Sea. Details include the pyramids in Egypt, the route of Abraham from Ur to Sichem, and the wandering of the Children of Israel. At top is an inset map of the world, showing a large southern continent, a Northwest Passage, and distorted outlines to North and South America. Another inset map of the Holy Land is shown at the right. Frans van Haren (more commonly called Haraeus) was a theologian, historian, globe maker and mapmaker from around 1615 to 1624. He prepared two maps centered on the Mediterranean Sea for Ortelius' classical atlas that described the world known to the ancients. The map is surrounded with columns of text with an alphabetical listing of place names occurring in the bible and other holy writings. Full sheet with text measures 22.1 x 18.0". This map is scarce, as it only appears in two editions of the Theatrum.

References: Van den Broecke #184.

Condition: A

A sharp impression on a clean, bright sheet with some tiny worm tracks along and adjacent to the centerfold that have been professionally repaired, with a minute amount of image replaced in facsimile.

Estimate: $600 - $750

Sold for: $450

Closed on 2/14/2018

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