Catalog Archive
Auction 201, Lot 645

"Asia Vetus", Weigel, Christopher

Subject: Asia

Period: 1720 (circa)

Publication: Descriptio Orbis Antiqui...

Color: Hand Color

Size:
16.1 x 12.9 inches
40.9 x 32.8 cm
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This interesting map of Asia shows the extent of knowledge and political divisions in ancient times. The islands of Southeast Asia are devoid of any place names and are rudimentarily mapped. The continent is truncated without Korea or Kamchatka. Japan appears as two huge islands, Satyrotum Insula and Iabadii Ins. The title is engraved on a stone slab with numerous ancient coins. Likely engraved by Michael Kauffer.

Christoph Weigel (1654-1725) was a goldsmith, engraver, illustrator, and publisher in Nuremberg, Germany, where he produced many maps and atlases of both the ancient and the modern world. Of particular interest is the fact that all his maps were hand-colored immediately after they were printed in his publishing house. The majority of early map publishers issued their maps in black and white with later coloring added by outside artists and colorists.

References: Shirley (BL Atlases) T.WEIG-2a #25.

Condition: B+

Full contemporary color on a sheet with a large coat of arms watermark. There is a small stain in the bottom border, a printer's crease adjacent to the centerfold, and light scattered foxing that is mostly confined to the blank margins.

Estimate: $180 - $210

Unsold

Closed on 11/20/2024

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