186. Coronelli, Vincenzo Maria: Hos globos Terraqueum...

Venice, c.1690.
A fine copper engraving depicting twelve terrestrial globe gores, created by Vincenzo Coronelli for a 150-mm-diameter globe (a matching set of celestial gores of the same size was also produced). Cartographically, the map is based on Coronelli’s monumental 1688 globe, here shown in a significantly reduced form. The gores appeared in three publications: initially in Corso Geografico Universale (1692), the first volume of the Atlante Veneto series; later in Coronelli’s Isolario (1697); and again in the Libro dei Globi, where the date 1697 is inscribed in the cartouche. The set of segments is framed, with a dedicatory cartouche to Sigismund Pollitus, head of the Congregation of St. Jerome in Lombardy, whose coat of arms is located at the foot of the second gore.
The geographical content reflects both the knowledge and misconceptions of its era. California is depicted as a vast island – one of the most persistent cartographic myths of the 17th century –, while to its west appears the landmass “Terra di Iesso”, which was believed to link Asia and America. The gores also illustrate notable voyages of exploration, including Jacob Le Maire’s 1616 expedition confirming Tierra del Fuego’s separation from the southern continent, and the 1685–86 journey of the French ambassador, Alexandre de Chaumont from Siam (present-day Thailand) to Brest. A remarkable example of Coronelli’s precision and artistry is how he blended scientific accuracy with the elegance of late Baroque Venetian cartography.
Dimensions: 245 × 465 (325 × 480) mm. Fine, clear copy.
Shirley: 537.
With:
Corso geografico universale, o’ sia la terra divisa...
Venice, 1692.
Atlas title page.
 
Starting price: 300 000,-