Subject: China, Korea & Japan
Period: 1682 (dated)
Publication: Mercurio Geografico
Color: Hand Color
Size:
21.6 x 17.2 inches
54.9 x 43.7 cm
This superb map of the Chinese Empire is drawn largely from the Blaeu map compiled by Jesuit Father Martino Martini who traveled through the region between 1643 and 1650. Individual provinces, towns, and the Great Wall are depicted in China. Korea is shown as a long, narrow peninsula, and Japan is beginning to take shape, although Hokkaido is connected to Tartary and labeled Tartari di Yupi. The Dutch settlement of New Zealand is shown in Taiwan. The map extends south to include the northern part of the Philippine Island of Luzon and the city of Manila. The title cartouche features a royal figure, mermen, and cornucopias. Engraved by Giorgio Widman.
References: Shirley (BL Atlases) T.ROSS-1a #43.
Condition: B+
A crisp impression on paper with a small medallion watermark and faint soiling. There are professional repairs to a 1" tear south of Japan and to a number of small worm tracks in the blank margins and border of the map, with a minor amount of the image replaced in facsimile.