By Jan Huygen Van Linschoten (1571-1638) a Dutch spy, merchant, traveller and writer.

During his stay in Goa, he meticulously copied secret charts page by page. Even more crucially, he provided nautical data like currents, deeps, islands and sandbanks that were vital for safe navigation, along with coastal depictions to guide the way. The publication of the navigational routes enabled the passage to the East Indies to be opened to trading by the Dutch, French and the English. As a consequence, the Dutch East India Company and the British East India Company would break the 16th-century monopoly enjoyed by the Portuguese on trade with the East Indies.

About the map: Partial printing. A few centimetres of the right side of the map were not printed This striking map consists of South Africa, West Africa and parts of the Atlantic. It is one of the most richly ornamented maps of the era, superbly engraved in the Flemish style by Arnold Florent van Langren and featured in Linschoten's Itinerario.

Animals and other creatures dot the interior. A lion stares intently, watching a pair of snakes to the northwest. An elephant and a rhino face off farther south. At sea, two ships are in full sail, pursued by a sea monster and an even larger rival ship. These additions underline how Europeans saw Africa as a place of possible trade and exotic flora and fauna.

In an elaborate scrollwork cartouche in the Atlantic are two beautiful, large inset profile views. On the left is Ascension Island. A ship is already at anchor with more on the horizon. On the right is St. Helena, where a small boat filled with men approach the tree-lined landing spot. These were important refuelling stations, again stressing the importance of Africa in trade routes to the East.

The balance of the sheet is filled with fabulous cartouches, the Portuguese arms, elaborate compass roses, ships, and beasts. These details make this perhaps the most spectacular map of the region published in the sixteenth century.
(Norwich, O.I. #239a; MCC 29 (Tooley #167).

465mm x 390mm excluding mountboard, unframed.

R15,000