Holy Land — Sebastian Münster, 1588
Coming 11/11
- Cartographer
- Sebastian Münster
- Date
- 1588
- Publication
- Cosmographia · Basel, Sebastian Petri, 1588
- Subject
- Holy Land
- 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
A hand-coloured woodcut of the Holy Land from the 1588 German edition of Sebastian Münster’s Cosmographia, published in Basel by Sebastian Petri. The title invokes the twelve tribes of Israel, while the geography on the sheet gives particular prominence to Galilee, Samaria and Judea. The design follows Ortelius’s map of Palestine, itself indebted to Tilemannus Stella.
The Mediterranean shore is lined with small settlements, and further inland the river system and lakes give the reader a way to follow the landscape. Two panels of German text sit within the map. The alternating scale of the lettering, from small town names to sweeping regional labels, is part of the character of the 1588 woodcut and rewards a closer look.
The original hand colouring is preserved and the paper is in very good condition. The woodcut measures 31 × 36 cm on a sheet of 35.5 × 43 cm.