Kingdom of Nigeria By Willem Janzoon Blaeu c. 1635

Hand coloured copperplate engraving.
By Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571–1638) also known as Willem Jansz, a Dutch cartographer, globe maker, and publisher.

He was one of the leading figures of the Dutch school of cartography in the seventeenth century.

Trained in astronomy under Tycho Brahe between 1594 and 1596, Blaeu established a workshop in Amsterdam where he produced globes, nautical charts, and maps. These works formed the basis of a series of atlases, including the Atlas Novus (1635), and were widely used in navigation and geographic study.

In 1633 he was appointed mapmaker to the Dutch East India Company. After his death in 1638, his business was continued by his sons, including Joan Blaeu, who later published the multi-volume Atlas Maior, one of the most extensive atlases of the seventeenth century.

The West coast of Africa is depicted with cities, buck and Elephant. Some of these states have names that relate to popular commodities of the time: The Grain Coast, the Ivory Coast on so on.

Sailing ships, and a turtle, can be seen in the oceans. The decorative cartouche features a scale in German miles.

Framed 950mm x 780mm

Unframed (map only) 410mm x 600mm

R15,000