1690 America Meridionale Auttore…
By: Vincenzo Coronelli
Date: 1690 (circa) Venice
Dimensions: 23.5 x 35.5 inches (60 cm x 90.2 cm)
This is a splendid uncolored example of Coronelli’s famous two-sheet map of South America, one of the most influential maps of the continent to be published in the late 17th century.
This attractive large folio map depicts the entire South American continent in Coronelli’s specific grand style. It illustrates many of the ideas of the New World which were circulating in Europe at the time and is obviously designed to influence its readers. Real and imaginary places are depicted, including rivers, mountains, lakes and even strange and wonderful animals. The outline of South America is well charted and each port and bay has been identified and named in detail. The interior is filled with geographical detail as well as sketches of local flora and fauna, both real and imagined. The map is illustrated with numerous scenes depicting warring Native Indians and European settlers.
Tierra del Fuego is left incomplete. North of the Amazon, Coronelli has included Lake Parime, a mythical lake, on the shores of which the fictional city of El Dorado is identified. The Amazon Kingdom and El Dorado were actually the last vestiges of the medieval European notions that somewhere on earth strange and wonderful places existed.
A citizen of the Republic of Venice, Vincenzo Mari Coronelli was a scholar, encyclopaedist, geographer, inventor and Doctor of Theology. He was one of the most celebrated map and globe makers of his era. Coronelli produce more than one hundred terrestrial and celestial globes, several hundred maps and a wealth of cartographic publications. He founded the first geographical society, the Academia Cosmografica degli Argonauti, and was appointed Cosmographer of the Republic of Venice.
Condition: Map is in A condition, two sheets professionally joined with a sark impression on clean, heavy paper. Some light browning is apparent along the tropic of Capricorn.
Inventory #10969
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