Asia — Sebastian Münster, 1588
Coming 11/11
- Cartographer
- Sebastian Münster
- Date
- 1588
- Publication
- Cosmographia · Basel, Sebastian Petri, 1588
- Subject
- Asia
- Medium
- Woodcut with original hand colour
- Dimensions
- 31 × 36 cm (woodcut); 35.5 × 43 cm (paper)
- Condition
- Very good; original hand colour
About this piece
An original hand-coloured woodcut of Asia from the 1588 German edition of Sebastian Münster’s Cosmographia, published in Basel by Sebastian Petri. For this edition Petri replaced Münster’s earlier map of Asia with a new design closely based on Abraham Ortelius. The result brings the geography of the Antwerp atlas into the quite different medium of the Basel woodcut.
The map reaches from Anatolia and the eastern Mediterranean to Southeast Asia and Japan. Its sweep makes the unfamiliar outlines especially striking, from the shape of the Indian peninsula to the islands along the far eastern edge. A sea creature and a decorative cartouche share the open water with the map’s lettering. The reverse carries a printed title with a woodcut ornament, a reminder that the sheet was designed to be read as part of a book.
The original hand colouring is preserved and the paper is in very good condition. The image measures 31 × 36 cm on a 35.5 × 43 cm sheet.