Decorative c. 1700 Mortier map of the Red Sea with important inset maps of Mombasa and Perim.

Carte Particulere de la Mer Rouge & c. Levee par Ordre des Roys de Portugal

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Date: ca. 1700
Place: Amsterdam
Dimensions: 51 x 58 cm (20 x 23 in)
Condition Rating: VG
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Description

Decorative map with original color in outline shows the Red Sea and in-set maps of Mombasa in Kenya and the island Perim in the Bab-el-Mandeb between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula.

The map was published by Pierre Mortier (1661-1711), one of the most commercially successful map publishers of his time, who opened his own cartography enterprise in 1690. Operating in Amsterdam, Mortier benefitted from the Dutch Republic’s highly developed print market and liberal censorship laws. Mortier formed a partnership with his brother David, but maintained a dominant role in the relationship.

Following Pierre Mortier’s death in 1711, his firm was maintained for a decade by his heirs. In 1721, the firm was rolled into the partnership of Johannes Covens and Cornelis Mortier. From its headquarters at the Vijgendam in Amsterdam, the firm issued numerous full feature atlases and separately-issued maps predicated on the latest sources, including those relating to current events such as the Ottoman-European Wars, including the Black Sea region.

Cartographer(s):

Pierre Mortier the Elder

Pierre Mortier the Elder (1661-1711) was a French cartographer and publisher who, in 1690, obtained the French king’s privilege to distribute the works of French geographers – particularly Hubert Jaillot – in the Netherlands. He subsequently settled in Amsterdam and built an extensive business on reissuing French maps. His son would take over his father’s business and become the latter half of the mapmaking duo Covens & Mortier.

Condition Description

Nice margins and the middle fold with very light stains, original red color slightly smeared. This map represents the right plate of a chart that normally consists of two joined plates.

References