1640 Tartaria sive Magni Chami Imperium
DESCRIPTION
This fantastic copper-engraved map of Tartary, issued circa 1640 by Willem Blaeu, presents an expansive European vision of Tartaria stretching from eastern Europe and Muscovy across Central Asia to northern China and the Pacific. Produced during the height of the Dutch Golden Age of cartography, the map synthesizes information drawn from classical geography, medieval travel narratives, and early modern missionary and commercial reports.
The cartography emphasizes broad cultural and political regions rather than precise borders. Labels such as Cathay, Mongul, Carli, and Chinae Regni Pars dominate the composition, while dense chains of mountains and long river systems structure the interior. Deserts play a prominent role, most notably the Desertum de Lop, which is not only named but illustrated and annotated with an evocative inscription and diabolical creatures believed to lure and deceive travelers. This imagery reflects long-standing legends derived from Marco Polo and other sources, reinforcing European perceptions of Inner Asia as a dangerous and morally charged landscape.
Coastal areas along China and the eastern extremities of Asia are rendered with greater confidence than the interior, underscoring the uneven flow of geographic information available to seventeenth-century mapmakers. The interior remains a tapestry of conjecture, travel lore, and compiled reports, presented visually through exaggerated relief and symbolic features. Rather than correcting myths, the map preserves them, offering insight into how geography and legend coexisted in early modern cartographic thought.
Decorative elements anchor the map firmly within Blaeu’s atlas tradition. A dramatic vignette of a camel caravan labeled “Tartaria sive Magni Chami Imperium” evokes long-distance trade, imperial authority, and the mobility of Central Asian societies, while allegorical figures and an engraved scale lend balance and visual richness. Issued with extensive descriptive text in French on the verso discussing the peoples, customs, and history of Tartary, as well as old annotations from a previous owner.
CONDITION
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