Stunning 1683 Cantelli-Rossi Map of Southeast Asia.
Penisola Dell India di la dal Gange Diusa ne i Regni…
$2,200
1 in stock
Description
Before Siam Closed Its Doors to the World.
This is a 1683 Giacomo Cantelli da Vignola map of Southeast Asia — the companion piece to his celebrated map of the Indian subcontinent and, in many respects, his more remarkable achievement. Published in Rome by Giovanni Giacomo de Rossi and engraved by Franciscus Donia-Messis, it is one of the earliest maps to delineate the independent polities of the Malay world based on firsthand traveler reports, and to draw on French Jesuit sources for the cartography of Vietnam — making it a cartographic landmark of the late 17th century.
The present example is a superb impression, distinguished by exceptionally fine and vivid hand-coloring, and is among the rarest of Cantelli’s maps, with only four examples recorded in institutional collections worldwide.
The Map in Detail
Coverage extends from the Bay of Bengal and Bengal in the northwest to the frontiers of China in the northeast, southward through Burma, Siam, Cochinchina, Cambodia, and the Malay Peninsula to the equator, with the northern tip of Sumatra appearing at the lower left. The Andaman Islands occupy the left margin; the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are placed incorrectly, after Thevenot at the northwest end of Sumatra. Bangkok is centered on the composition, with the Siamese capital at Ayutthaya clearly named. Provincial and political boundaries throughout are marked with dotted lines, a distinctive and historically significant feature of this map.
Singapore is shown as an island.
The cartouche in the lower right is one of the most dramatic in the Cantelli-de Rossi corpus: two richly dressed Southeast Asian potentates frame the title text, apparently unperturbed by the snarling leopard surmounting the whole — a composition of baroque confidence perfectly matched to the map’s cartographic ambitions.
Historical and Cartographic Context
The broad geographic framework of the map draws on Dutch charts and, through them, on the Portuguese sailing knowledge purloined by Jan Huygen van Linschoten in the late 16th century; but it is the map’s treatment of regional politics that sets it apart from all predecessors. West of the Mekong, the delineation of kingdoms and provincial boundaries derives primarily from the reports of Johan Albrecht de Mandelslo (1616–1644), a German adventurer whose 1638 travels in the Far East were published in Adam Olearius’s 1647 account of Holstein’s embassy to Muscovy and Persia. Mandelslo produced no map of his own, and maps drawing on his geographic narrative are exceedingly rare; this is the only one known to apply his information to the lands beyond the Ganges.
East of the Mekong, Cantelli’s source for Vietnam proves, on close examination, to be not the elder Tavernier (Daniel, 1610–1648) as has generally been assumed, but almost certainly the 1653 map of the Jesuit Father Alexandre de Rhodes (1593–1660): the islands off the southern Vietnamese coast, the provincial nomenclature, and the city names align far more convincingly with Rhodes than with any Tavernier source. Jean-Baptiste Tavernier’s name appears in the cartouche, but his celebrated reputation may have lent the map more authority than his geographical data did.
This map appeared at a precise historical hinge point. European interest in Siam was at its peak in the early 1680s, and in 1685, two years after this map’s publication, King Louis XIV dispatched his ambassador, Alexandre de Chaumont, to Ayutthaya. The French mission that followed transformed European knowledge of the region and produced a wave of new cartographic information about Siam and Southeast Asia generally. It also, paradoxically, contributed to the political upheaval that closed Siam to foreign contact for the subsequent century and a half, bringing the era of cartographic advancement this map represents to an abrupt end.
Publication History and Census
This map was prepared by Giacomo Cantelli da Vignola in 1683, engraved by Franciscus Donia-Messis, and published by Giovanni Giacomo de Rossi in Rome. It appeared in de Rossi’s Mercurio Geografico of 1692. Only four examples are recorded in OCLC, held respectively at Harvard University, the Biblioteca Nacional de España, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the National Library of Australia — making this one of the rarest maps in the Cantelli-de Rossi corpus and a significant rarity on the private market.
Cartographer(s):
Giacomo Cantelli da Vignola (1643–1695) was a prominent Italian cartographer known for his detailed and decorative maps, which significantly contributed to the field of cartography in the 17th century. Born in Vignola, near Modena, Italy, little is known about his early life and education. Cantelli began his cartographic career in the late 17th century, a period marked by increasing sophistication and artistry in mapmaking. He was renowned for his maps’ accuracy and intricate details, often embellished with elaborate cartouches and mythical figures, making them both practical and aesthetically pleasing.
Cantelli produced numerous maps covering various regions of Europe, Asia, and Africa, many of which were included in atlases published by prominent publishers such as Giovanni Giacomo De Rossi in Rome. His maps of Italy, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean region were particularly well-regarded for their precision and detail. Cantelli’s collaboration with De Rossi helped disseminate his work widely, establishing his reputation as a leading cartographer of his time.
Cantelli’s influence on cartography extended beyond his lifetime, setting a standard for mapmaking in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. His combination of artistic elements with geographical accuracy was admired and emulated by other cartographers. Today, Cantelli’s maps are valuable historical documents preserved in libraries, museums, and private collections worldwide, providing insights into the geographical knowledge and artistic sensibilities of the 17th century. Giacomo Cantelli da Vignola remains a significant figure in the history of cartography, remembered for his meticulous and beautifully crafted maps that advanced geographical knowledge during his era.
Giacomo Giovanni de RossiGiovanni Giacomo de Rossi (1627–1691) was an Italian engraver and printer, active in Rome in the second half of the 17th century. He was born in Vignola and was the first official cartographer of the Court of Modena, in 1685, when the Duke Francis II appointed him geographer.
His father, Giuseppe de Rossi, was the founder of the most important and active printing press of the 17th century in Rome.
Condition Description
The best color we have seen. Minor foxing.
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