Asia X Tab

1618

Later hand-coloured copper engraving on paper

Print Size: 13.75 x 18.5 in (35 x 47 cm)
Sheet Size: 14.5 x 19 in (36.7 x 48.5 cm)
With Mount: 21 x 25.5 in (53 x 64.5 cm)

The Asia X Tab map, created by Gerard Mercator in 1578 and reprinted in 1618, is part of Mercator’s re-interpretation of Claudius Ptolemy's Geographia. Mercator's meticulous research and engraving techniques later corrected and enhanced the Ptolemaic geographic concepts reflected in this map, which covers regions of Central and Southeast Asia. Mercator spent over a decade working on these maps, blending the classical knowledge of Ptolemy with his advancements in cartography. His maps were not only aesthetically superior but also historically significant, bridging ancient and modern geographical understandings.

The 1618 edition added decorative features such as sailing ships and sea monsters, typical of the period's cartographic embellishments. Despite these additions, the topographical essence remained true to Mercator's original plates. Mercator's version departed from Ptolemy's inaccuracies, especially in the depiction of Asia's size and shape, representing a significant advancement in geographical accuracy for the time.

Claudius Ptolemy (83–161 AD)
Ptolemy was a Greco-Egyptian scholar working in Alexandria, Egypt, circa 150 AD, who lived at the height of the Roman Empire. He was a student of astronomy and geography and his work formed the foundation of some of modern map-making. His astronomical work, as published in his Almagest, had a significant effect on western thought until Isaac Newton, and the effect of his cartographic studies is still felt today. Ptolemy was the first to use projection methods and create an atlas, the Geographiae. Ptolemy based his geographical and historical information on Strabo's Geographica, Marinus of Tyre's cartographic resources, and information supplied by the various traders and navigators travelling through Alexandria. Ptolemy's Geographiae was a pioneering achievement well ahead of any known mapping, not because of its data correctness but because of his approach. His projection of a conic piece of the globe on a grid, as well as his painstaking tabulation of known cities and geographical characteristics of his world, enabled researchers to create a mathematical model of the earth's surface for the first time. Ptolemy's work laid the groundwork for all subsequent mapmaking. His inaccuracies in estimating the extent of the globe (which were more than 20% off) led to Columbus' misguided expedition to India in 1492.

With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the text of Ptolemy’s Geographiae was lost to western scholars until about 1406, but it survived in the Arab world and was transmitted down to the Greek world when the scholar Jacobo d'Angelo prepared a Latin translation of a Greek manuscript. Maps were very definitely not included in the original text; the guidelines in Ptolemy's Geographiae enabled the creation of such maps. When vellum and paper books were accessible, Ptolemy manuscripts began to contain maps. The earliest known manuscript, the Geographia dates from the 14th century; of Ptolemy’s works that have survived to the present day, they are based on manuscript editions produced in the mid-15th century by Donnus Nicolaus Germanus, who provided the basis for all but one of the printed 15th-century editions of the work.

Gerard Mercator (5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594)
Gerard Kremer, known by his latinized name Gerardus Mercator, also called Mercator or Gerardo Mercator, is one of the most famous cartographers of all time. Mercator was born in Flanders and educated at the Catholic University in Leuven. After his graduation in 1532, Mercator worked with Gemma Frisius, a prominent mathematician, and Gaspar a Myrica, a goldsmith and engraver. Together, these men produced globes and scientific instruments, allowing Mercator to hone his skills. With his wife, Barbara, Mercator had six children: Arnold, Emerentia, Dorothes, Bartholomeus, Rumold, and Catharina. In 1552, Mercator moved to Duisburg from Leuven, where he lived for the rest of his life. In 1564, he was appointed the official cosmographer to the court of Duke Wilhelm of Cleve.

Mercator’s enduring contribution to cartography is the term "atlas," which was first used to describe his collection of maps gathered in one volume. Mercator's sons, especially Rumold, and his grandsons worked tirelessly to publish the Mercator atlas in 1595, a year after his death.

Apart from the creation and popularisation of a projection that now bears his name. Mercator projection maps draw all parallels and meridians at right angles to each other, with the distance between the parallels extending towards the poles. This made it possible to calculate latitude and longitude accurately and to draw navigational routes using straight lines, which greatly benefited sailors by enabling them to plot courses without constantly adjusting compass readings.

Mercator’s Life Works was a corrected and improved edition of maps based upon the work of Claudius Ptolemy. "His interpretation of the 28 Ptolemaic text was possibly one of the truest undertaken up until that time. He had spent 13 years researching, drawing, and engraving the maps at much commercial sacrifice to himself, having seen Orteliu's Theatrum and De Jodes Speculum published to become both technical and commercial successes. In later life he devoted himself to his edition of the maps in Ptolemy's Geographia, reproduced in his own engraving as nearly as possible in their original form." (Source: antiquarius.it, online)

This lot will be shipped unframed.

NON-EXPORTABLE

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