This boldly engraved chart details the important Spice Islands with a broader view part of the East Indies than most Spice Island charts. It includes Baru (here Boero), Ambon, Seram, and part of Maluku, here labeled Nova Guinea. The main map extends to include the northern part of the Celebes. A large inset shows in greater detail Baru and the southern portion of the Celebes. The Dutch controlled this region and its important clove, nutmeg and mace production for most of the seventeenth century. Valentyn was a prominent historian of the Dutch East India Company who is best known for Oud en Nieuw Oost Indien, his vast illustrated account of the Dutch trading empire in Asia. He twice traveled to the East Indies and served as Calvinist minister to Ambon between 1686 and 1694. In preparing this monumental work, he was given privileged access to the previously secret archives of the VOC, containing transcripts and copies of important earlier Dutch voyages. Embellished with compass roses and filled with rhumblines.

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Condition: B+

Dark impression with outline coloring and original margins. Near fine example with a small filled hole in the inset at bottom of Celebes, with a small loss of the engraved line.