184. Jansson, Jan: Aethiopia Inferior, vel Exterior.

Amsterdam, 1636.
A decorative, hand-coloured copper-engraved map of South Africa, issued just before the arrival of the first Dutch settlers. The map depicts the region extending from the Congo Basin and northern Mozambique southwards to the Cape of Good Hope. Mozambique was a key stopover for ships sailing east to India, and its surrounding coastline is rendered with remarkable detail. In the north, one of the so-called “Ptolemaic lakes” is shown, which cartographers of the time believed to be the source of the Nile. The continent’s interior is characterised by limited, often speculative cartographic information, reflecting Europe’s restricted geographical knowledge at the time. The intricately engraved Baroque title cartouche, supported by two Saracens, is adorned with native African fauna that also appear throughout the map. The reverse side is blank, indicating that the sheet was probably issued separately or as part of a composite atlas prior to later editions.
Dimensions: 380 × 500 (400 × 520) mm. Fine, clear copy.
Tooley: p. 58.
 
Starting price: 100 000,-