Descriptio Nova Imperii Malabar, Canara, Decan

Philippus Baldaeus, Descriptio Nova Imperii Malabar, Canara, Decan, Circa 1720s
16 x 13 in (40 x 32.5 cm)

This extremely rare map was created by Philip Baldaeus, a Dutch missionary in the Malabar and Coromandel districts. His work, Naauwkeurige Beschryvinge van Malabar en Choromandel....., is considered one of the foremost sources regarding Dutch settlements in southern India.

The map depicts western India from the southern tip up to Surat, including a portion of the Kathiawar peninsula. Numerous small towns are noted along the coastline and along the rivers, including Mumbai (Bombaia), Goa, Calicut, Cochin (Cotchyn), and Quilon (Coulan). The coastal area is divided into several regions: Malabar, Canara (Kanara) and Decan (Deccan). The map is embellished with a compass rose, a distance scale topped with measuring dividers and maps, and a decorative title cartouche flanked by three natives. The map was reissued in Churchill's A Collection of Voyages, , which had the first English translation of the Baldaeus book.

"Philips Baelde or Father Philippus Baldaeus, (baptized on 24 October 1632,) was a Dutch minister. Baldaeus recorded everything of value with ethnological, historical, geographical and theological viewpoints from himself or of informants (e.g., a baptized pundit), interpreters, or from the collections of the Jesuit libraries in Ceylon and South India. His records are still accessible in the Netherlands literature about South Asia and its detailed records. In addition, he quoted in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Sanskrit. His depiction of the Tamil language was ground breaking." (Source: Wikipedia)

This work will be shipped unframed

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