Magni Mogolis Imperium

1640

Later hand-coloured copper engraving on paper

Print Size: 16.5 x 20 in (41.5 x 51 cm)
Sheet Size: 18.5 x 22 in (46.8 x 55.8 cm)
With Mount: 24.5 x 28.5 in (62 x 72 cm)

This is a remarkable 1640 map by Joan and Cornelius Balau that depicts the dominion of the Great Mogul in Northern India.

This map covers much of modern-day India, as well as parts of adjacent Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Tibet, spanning from the Indus River Valley to the Irrawaddy River Valley and from Tibet to Bombay. Exquisitely engraved sailing ships adorn the seas, while a variety of animals, including elephants and camels, adorn the land. It is based on the 1618 map of William Baffin, who received reports from Sir Thomas Roe, the ambassador of King James I of England to the Mogul Emperor Jahangir c. 1615.

The Empire of the Great Mogul was established at the beginning of the 16th century and encompassed the region of present-day Afghanistan and Dacca, Bangladesh. The Empire was of significant commercial importance to English and Dutch trading concerns, which this map is likely designed to appeal to.

Blaeu's map of India is a striking depiction of the apocryphal Lake of Chiamay (also called Chiam-may o Chian-may), which appears just north of the Bay of Bengal as the source of four important South East Asian River systems: the Irrawaddy, the Dharla, the Chao Phraya, and the Brahmaputra. The Portuguese scholar Jao de Barros may have derived the lake's origins from a lost 16th-century geography. It was speculated to be the source of five important South East Asian River systems and was mentioned in the journals of Sven Hedin, who disputes the notion. There are even records that the King of Siam led an invasionary force to seize control of the lake in the 16th century, although this may in fact be a reference to the conquest of Chaing Mai. This ultimately led to the discrediting of the theory of Lake Chiamay and its complete disappearance from maps.

Blaeu's map of India was one of the earliest Dutch maps to follow the work of Baffin, representing a significant leap forward in the mapping and geographical understanding of India as made by the earlier printed maps of India by Mercator and Linschoten. The differences are particularly noticeable in the interior of Baffin's map, where the Indus River is depicted for the first time in a relatively accurate manner. Baffin mapped Western and most of central India in a relatively accurate format for the first time. The Baffin-Roe map prominently features the Longe Walke, a tree-lined route connecting the palaces at Agra and Lahore.

Baffin's map was a result of the collaboration of Sir Thomas Roe, the East India Company's ambassador to the Mughal Empire, and William Baffin (1584-1622), the famous explorer. The collaboration likely started during Roe's return to England after serving as ambassador. The East India Company employed Baffin as a surveyor from 1617 until his death in January 1622, following his final attempt to locate the Northwest Passage.

While serving as Master's Mate aboard the Ann Royal in 1619, Baffin and Roe were able to collaborate in the preparation of a manuscript map of India, the original of which is now in the British Library. Thomas Sterne later printed the map (engraved by Elsracke) in London in 1620. Baffin would have completed the original manuscript before his departure from England in February 1620 aboard the London ship.

In 1614, the East India Company initially instructed Nicholas Downton, the sea commander, to create a map of India. The East India Company had directed Downton to gather information to create a map of India, but he failed to acquire the necessary information to accomplish this mission. Between 1615 and 1617, Sir Thomas Roe, who arrived the following year, compiled geographical data on 37 cities.

By October 1617, Roe had created a geographical compendium of India, which would become the basis for most printed maps of India for the next 100 years. Some question the role Roe played in the map's drafting, given that several places on the map do not align well with the information in Roe's geographical compendium.

Baffin's map was first copied by Samuel Purchas in 1625 and thereafter became the standard depiction of Indians for over 50 years.

Joan (Johannes) Blaeu (September 23, 1596 - December 21, 1673)
An active Dutch cartographer in the 17th century was Joan (Johannes) Blaeu (23 September 1596 - 21 December 1673). Joan was the son of Willem Janszoon Blaeu, the originator of the Blaeu firm. Johannes, like his father Willem, was born in Alkmaar, North Holland. He pursued a doctorate in law before relocating to Amsterdam to become a part of the family's mapmaking business. In 1633, Willem facilitated Johannes' appointment as the official chartmaker of the Dutch East India Company, succeeding Hessel Gerritsz. However, he operated under contract and oath, making his tenure with the organization highly confidential. Many acknowledge the exceedingly profitable nature of his work in providing charts to the extremely affluent VOC. The Blaeu enterprise prospered in areas where other cartographers frequently experienced financial ruin. The firm's most significant and well-known publication, the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, sive, Atlas Novus, was presumably made possible by those profits. In 1638, Johannes and his brother Cornelius Blaeu (1616–1648) assumed responsibility for the Blaeu firm following the death of Willem Blaeu. Joan and Cornelius greatly expanded and updated Atlas Maior, a work they produced in 1662. The volume count of the handful of editions ranged from 9 to an astonishing 12. The firm continued to thrive under the brothers' competent leadership until the 1672 Great Amsterdam Fire incinerated their offices and the majority of their printing plates. The following year, Johannes Blaeu passed away in despair after witnessing the devastation of his life's work. The Dutch Reformist cemetery of Westerkerk holds his interment. Joan II, also named Johannes, inherited the family's VOC contract from Johannes Blaeu and compiled maps for it until 1712.

This lot will be shipped unframed.

NON-EXPORTABLE

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