Regionum Choromandel, Golconda, et Orixa. Nova et Accurata Descriptio

Circa 1672

Later hand-coloured copper engraving on paper

Print Size: 11.5 x 14 in (29 x 35.8 cm)
With Mount: 18 x 20.75 in (45.6 x 52.5 cm)

This 17th-century Dutch map of the Cormandel Coast depicts the eastern coast of India from the Palk Strait to Baleshwar, with the north oriented to the right. The names of numerous towns are indicated along the coast, with soundings and anchorages noted along the shore. In the interior are rivers, mountains, a few places labelled, and depictions of animals, including pairs of elephants and leopards. The map extends to include the northern tip of Sri Lanka, with several place names and soundings noted here as well.

It also depicts the southeast coast of India on the Bay of Bengal from Odisha (Orissa) to the southern tip (Cape Comorin, Kanyakumari). Deep soundings and some sandbars are noted all along the coast, and many coastal towns are recorded, the most prominent being Masulipatam, Pallecatta, Nagepatnam, and Tutecoryn. Hills are dramatically depicted in conjectural locations, along with schematic forests. Two elephants appear roaming northeast of Masulipatam and two jaguars west of Golconda.

There is an ornate baroque title frame in the lower left corner surrounded by illustrations of a string of pearls and a pair of toddlers holding strings of pearls next to two chests overflowing with necklaces, textiles, and a sword hilt. On the ground next to the title frame are two more overflowing chests, one with jewellery and bundles of fibres and two oyster shells with multiple pearls and the other with strings of pearls and a goblet, next to which are a spiked shield and another bundle of fibres. A scale on the lower right gives Dutch miles, Spanish leagues, and English and French leagues. Oriented with west at the top. A large compass rose radiating rhumb lines is in the middle of the Bay of Bengal.

Philips Baelde or Philippus Baldaeus (baptized on 24 October 1632–1671)
Father Philippus Baldaeus, also known as Philips Baelde, was a 17th-century Dutch minister who documented ethnological, historical, geographical, and theological perspectives observed by himself or gathered from informants (e.g., a baptized pundit), interpreters, or the materials in Jesuit libraries in Ceylon and South India. His detailed records of information on South Asia are still accessible in the Netherlands. He also provided quotations in Sanskrit, Portuguese, English, French, Italian, Hebrew, and Latin.

He journeyed to Jaffna, Ceylon, in the 17th century as part of an invading Dutch force. He became the first European to document the life, language, and culture of the Tamil people in the island's northern region. His account holds immense historical significance, akin to the Mahawamsa, and his depiction of the Tamil language was groundbreaking.


This lot will be shipped unframed.

NON-EXPORTABLE

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