This large beautifully
hand coloured
original antique map of India and the Northern Mughal
Empire was published by Georg Mattraus Seutter
in 1740.
Representing 18th century Germany cartography at it’s
finest; this is an absolutely spectacular c. 1740 map of
northern India by Matthias Seutter. Showing the extent
of the powerful Mughal Empire in the late 17th century,
this map details the subcontinent and parts of Central
Asia from Persia and Khandhar eastward as far a modern
day Burma and Thailand. Extends northward to include
parts of Tibet and Nepal and southwards as far as the
Malabar Coast and the Gulf of Thailand. Cartographically
this map is heavily based upon Hondius and Mercator’s
17th century of the same region entitled India
Orientalis. Presented is wonderful combination of
surprising accuracy, gross errors, and outright
speculation. Generally speaking, this map is
cartographically solid detailing numerous cities, river
systems and trade routes. Shows Deli, Agra, Kandahar (Candahar),
Lahore (Lahor), Pegu, Goa, Kabul (Cabul), Jaisalmer (Gislemere),
and many other important and still thriving cities. Also
notes several important trade routes including the
ancient caravan trail westward from Agra into Persia.
Despite this map’s thoroughness, there are a number of
cartographic errors, probably the most notable of which
is the narrowing of the subcontinent. Usually such
lateral misrepresentations are the result of erroneous
16th century longitudinal calculations. In this case,
these errors found their way into the Hondius’s map and
hence into this one as well. The northernmost regions
depicted on this map are highly speculative with regard
to physical geography. A number of large lakes,
including the apocryphal Lake of Chiamay, are speculated
in the northeastern quadrants of the map as the sources
of four important Southeast Asian river systems
including the Irrawaddy, the Dharla, the Chao Phraya,
and the Brahmaputra. The curious Lake of Chiamay (also
called Chiam-may or Chian-may), roughly located in the
area of Assam but sometimes as far north as Tibet and
China, began to appear in maps of this region as early
as the 16th century and persisted well into the mid 18th
century. Its origins are unknown but may originate in a
lost 16th century geography prepared by the Portuguese
scholar Jao de Barros. It was speculated to be the
source of five important Southeast Asian River systems
and was mentioned in the journals of Sven Hedin. There
are even records that the King of Siam led an
invasionary force to take control of the lake in the
16th century. Nonetheless, the theory of Lake Chimmay
was ultimately disproved and it disappeared from maps
entirely by the 1760s. Decorated with several extremely
attractive allegorical cartouche image. The title
cartouche in the lower left hand quadrant shows
Poseidon, Hermes, an angel and the goddess Fame admiring
the wealth of Asia as represented by jewels, ivory, and
precious metals. In the upper left hand quadrant, a
distance scale plays second fiddle to a scene of cherubs
rummaging through chests full of treasure while exotic
peacocks look on. A large trade Caravel rests in the
Indian Ocean, lower right quadrant, suggesting the trade
riches to be had by daring ship captains willing to sail
half way around the world. Engraved by Albrecht Carl
Seutter and published by Matthias Seutter c. 1740.
(Ref: M&B; Tooley)
Condition Report
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: - Original & later
Colors used: - Yellow, pink, green, orange, blue
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 25in x 20 1/2in (630mm x 520mm)
Plate size: - 22 1/2in x 20in (570mm x 500mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - Bottom & top margin extended from plate-mark
& border
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None
If you wish to discuss this or any other item
please email or call - good luck, Simon.
Classical Images
61 (0) 409 551910 Tel
simon@classicalimages.com
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