Catalog Archive
Auction 126, Lot 730

"Tabula Asiae XI", Ptolemy/Ruscelli

Subject: Southeast Asia

Period: 1599 (published)

Publication: Geografia di Tolomeo

Color: Black & White

Size:
8.8 x 7 inches
22.4 x 17.8 cm
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Based on the interpretations of Solinus and Munster, this Ptolemaic map covers the region roughly of Thailand and Malaysia. An oddly shaped (Malaysian?) peninsula lies to the east of the Ganges River, then the China Sea (Sinus Magnus) and another landmass lies to the east of that. This depiction embodies the legacy of Ptolemy's idea of a landlocked Indian Ocean. This is the fourth edition by Girolamo Ruscelli, published by the heirs of Melchior Sessa, and edited by Giuseppe Rosaccio. Italian text on verso.

References: Mickwitz & Miekkavaara, (Nordenskiold-2) #227-25.

Condition: A

A dark impression on a sound sheet with a tiny repaired binding hole in the lower border.

Estimate: $250 - $300

Sold for: $150

Closed on 12/3/2008

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