1669 Reys-Kaerte vande Ambassade der Nederlandse Oost Indise Compagnie door China...
DESCRIPTION
This uncommon map of China documents the route of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) embassy through China during the mid-1640s, undertaken in an effort to secure direct trade relations with the Qing court.
Issued in Amsterdam in 1669 for Arnoldus Montanus’s influential publication on Asia, the map is based on the firsthand travel accounts of Johan Nieuhoff, who accompanied the mission. Unlike generalized maps of China, this work is organized around a specific diplomatic journey, tracing the embassy’s movement from the southern coast inland toward Peking and the court of the Great Tartar Cham.
Geographically, the map emphasizes rivers, roads, and overland travel corridors, underscoring the practical challenges of movement across the empire. The Great Wall of China is carefully delineated along the northern frontier, separating China from Tartary, while coastal waters, islands, and maritime approaches highlight the importance of sea access to Canton. Formosa (Taiwan) appears prominently offshore, situating China within a wider East Asian maritime network familiar to Dutch traders and navigators. Pictorial elements, including animals, ships, and stylized terrain, add narrative detail while conveying regional conditions encountered along the route.
This Montanus issue is distinguished by the presence of a mileage scale positioned beneath the title cartouche, a feature absent from some closely related versions of the map. That detail underscores its function as a practical route map rather than a purely descriptive geographic image. The map represents one of the earliest European depictions of China grounded in sustained inland observation, transforming a diplomatic mission into a lasting cartographic record of early modern global exchange, travel, and commerce.
CONDITION
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