Subject: Holy Land
Period: 1586 (dated)
Publication: Theatrum Orbis Terrarum
Color: Hand Color
Size:
18.2 x 14.1 inches
46.2 x 35.8 cm
Ortelius designed, and probably also engraved this beautiful Holy Land map. It details the wanderings and life of the Patriarch Abraham. The map is displayed as though on a banner hung on a wall; it shows Palestine and a portion of Egypt, inset with a small map of the Middle East from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates River. The imaginative design includes an elaborately engraved frame containing twenty-two scenes illustrating the life of Abraham, spanning his departure from Ur to his death. This is from the second plate, used from 1592-1624, with the hachuring within the medallion border running from upper left to lower right. From a Latin edition, published in 1592.
References: Laor #547; Van den Broecke #183.
Condition: B+
Full original color with light toning that is more pronounced along the centerfold and in the blank margins. There is a short centerfold separation in the bottom blank margin, remnants of hinge tape on verso, and a small hole at bottom left, well away from map image.