"Romani Imperii Imago", Ortelius, Abraham

Dramatic map of the Roman Empire centered on the Mediterranean and covering most of Europe, Northern Africa, and the Near and Middle East. The map is richly decorated with several strapwork cartouches, two containing portraits of Remus and Romulus, the founder of Rome. The cartouches in the lower section of the map contain an account of Roman history at left and a large genealogical tree of the rulers of Rome at right. This is the second state with the addition of the Vitruvius quote at top right. Dutch text on verso, published between 1598-1613.

References: Van den Broecke #187.2.

Condition: B+

A dark impression with full contemporary color on a sheet with the crossed arrows watermark commonly found on Ortelius maps, with light soiling and some minor creasing. There are archival repairs to a couple of short edge tears at right and left, and the sheet has been professionally remargined at bottom with a small amount of the border replaced in facsimile at bottom left.