Seutter’s Enlightenment-era celebration of Ancient Greece.
Graeciae Antiquae Designatio Nova
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Description
The perfect gift for a history buff, this attractive map depicts ancient Greece, complete with historical place names and regional designations. It was published in Germany in the mid-18th century, and thus what we have here is an Enlightenment-era cartographical treatise looking not at contemporary Greece, but a presentation of the geography and history of Classical Greece.
The most striking feature of the map is undoubtedly the large cartouche at lower left, which has been left uncolored according to the contemporary 18th century German style of map decoration. Around the title itself, we find a fine mix of classical architecture, mythology, and daily life. At bottom, two philosophers are found in mid discussion. To their left is a chariot scene, and to their right is the famous Colossus of Rhodes, the giant statue of the Greek sun-god Helios, standing astride the entrance to the city harbor.
Cartographer(s):
Matthäus Seutter was born in Augsburg in 1678 and became one of the most prolific and influential German map publishers of the first half of the eighteenth century. Seutter apprenticed in Nuremberg under Johann Baptist Homann, a formative experience that shaped both his engraving technique and business approach. Around 1707, Seutter established an independent publishing house in Augsburg, which, over the following decades, grew into a major European cartographic firm. In 1731, Suetter was named Imperial Geographer (Geographus Caesareus) by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, further supporting his momentum.
Seutter’s firm was known for high-quality engraving, baroque cartouches, and for reproducing and adapting important foreign maps for the German market. After Seutter died in 1757, the business passed through family connections to his son-in-law, Tobias Conrad Lotter. Lotter continued to publish and reissue Seutter plates, sometimes altering imprints and ornaments to claim them more as his own. In general, Seutter’s practice exemplifies the commercial, collaborative, and often derivative nature of European cartography in the 18th century.
Condition Description
Beautiful original color. Wear along the centerfold and in margins.
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