Catalog Archive
Auction 195, Lot 653

"Valletta Citta Nova di Malta", Merian, Matthaus

Subject: Valletta, Malta

Period: 1650 (circa)

Publication: Topographia

Color: Black & White

Size:
14 x 10.8 inches
35.6 x 27.4 cm
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This stunning bird's-eye view of Malta's capital city features excellent detail of its famous fortifications and Baroque architecture. A key at top left identifies 41 sites of interest, including Saint John's Co-Cathedral, Grandmaster's Palace, and the Holy Infirmary. An inset map showing Malta and Gozo appears in a decorative cartouche at bottom right. There is a compass rose at right that orients the north to bottom right and includes at its center a small map of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, and Malta. A coat-of-arms completes the composition at bottom left.

References:

Condition: A

A sharp impression on a sheet with a coat of arms watermark, light foxing that is mostly confined to the blank margins, and some tiny tears along the edges of the sheet.

Estimate: $550 - $700

Unsold

Closed on 11/15/2023

Archived