181. Münster, Sebastian: (Európa Regina)

Basel, 1570k.
Basel, about 1570.
Rare, finely coloured, woodcut map of Europe, which depicts the continent in the form of a queen. The work – widely known as “Europa Regina” – was first published in Sebastian Münster’s “Cosmographia universalis” in 1544 and is one of the earliest printed anthropomorphic maps. The first anthropomorphic design was used on the Italian priest, Opicinus de Canistris’ 14th-century manuscript maps (currently kept in Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana). The first known cartographic representation of “Europa Regina” dates back to the 16th century, and the anthropomorphic maps – which depict cartographic elements in human form – soon gained popularity among contemporary geographical depictions. Based on the Tyrolean Johannes Putsch’s 1537 work, Sebastian Münster published this version later, which has nowadays become one of the most desired 16th-century maps. The engraver chose the Iberian Peninsula for the queen’s head and crown on the west to the east-oriented sheet. To this, the necklace-like Pyrenees connect the dress stretching to the Black Sea, on which the line of the Danube and the ranges of the Dinaric and Balkan Mountains are strongly emphasised. The nomenclature is particularly poor: in addition to the names of the countries and the most significant rivers, only four cities are indicated (Paris, Venice, Belgrade, and Constantinople). A short explanatory text can be read at the top, outside the map field. German text on the back of the sheet.
Dimensions: 335 x 210 mm. Fine, clean copy.
 
Starting price: 550 000 Ft