Subject: Borneo
Period: 1659 (circa)
Publication:
Color: Hand Color
Size:
20.8 x 16.6 inches
52.8 x 42.2 cm
The mapping of Borneo suffered from the general lack of exploration through much of the otherwise robust period of discovery in South East Asia. Until this map appeared, the island was depicted with a few Portuguese place names along the western coastline, the large Brunei Bay, and a blank and generally flat eastern coastline. This map, oriented with north to the right, was a great improvement particularly on the east coast. It is adorned with two cartouches featuring merfolk and putti, compass roses, and two sailing ships. This map appeared in Jan Jansson's sea-atlas, Waterwereld, which formed a section of Volume V of his Novus Atlas. This is one of the few early maps that focus on the island, and is uncommon as it was only published in a few editions of Jansson's atlases.
References: Suarez (SEA) p. 207, fig. 120; Van der Krogt (Vol. I) #8540:1.
Condition: B
Full contemporary color with a yellow stain at top left and short, archivally repaired centerfold separations at top and bottom.