| Method | Woodcut |
| Artist | Ramusio, Giovanni Battista |
| Published | [In Venetia nella Stamperia de Giunti. L'Anno M D LXIII] |
| Dimensions | 222 x 145 mm |
| Notes |
A rare and interesting map of Africa, showing the course of the Nile, from Ramusio's Della descrittione dell'Africa et delle cose notabili che iui sono. The map is oriented with south to top, and shows almost the continent of Africa from the Tropic of Capricorn to the North African coast. The Cape of Good Hope and Guinea are not pictured, though the Arabian peninsula and Madagascar are both featured, the latter labelled here as San Lorenzo, an italicism of the island's original Portuguese name, St Lawrence. The Nile is given the most prominence, from its putative sources in two great lakes in the interior marked as the 'Fonti del Nilo' to the Mediterranean Delta at Damietta. Principal cities, including Cairo, Memphis (with its pyramids), Alexandria, Suez, Mecca, and Aden, are depicted pictorially, and the continent is criss-crossed by a number of exaggerated mountain ranges. Below the map, an alphanumeric key, augmented by a number of zodiacal symbols on the map itself, shows the position of various star-signs relative to the Tropics and Equator. 'Della descrittione dell'Africa et delle cose notabili che iui sono' was part of the large series of travellers' accounts and pilgrim tales published by Giovanni Battista Ramusio under the title 'Delle navigationi e Viaggi.' The series was one of the most influential works of the sixteenth century, and was widely published, copied, and pirated across Europe, in numerous different languages. Ramusio's work was largely an amalgam of existing travel narratives, including those of Marco Polo, Magellan, Tome Pires, and de Vaca. The section often referred to as the 'Description of Africa' was an Italian translation of a mostly firsthand account dictated in Arabic by the traveller, merchant, and Christian convert, Leo Africanus. Leo's experiences as a slave under capture by the Barbary pirates represented one of the first accounts of the North African coast available to European readers at a time when the West was increasingly coming into contact and conflict with the Ottoman east. The English translation of the Description, published by John Pory in 1600, has been suggested as a potential source of inspiration for Shakespeare's Othello. Giovanni Battista Ramusio (1485-1557) was an Italian geographer, translator, author, and publisher. He is best known for the large series of traveller's accounts that he compiled, translated, and published as the Delle navigationi e Viaggi. The first volumes appeared during the 1550s, and were republished, added to, and translated into other languages throughout the second half of the sixteenth century. Condition: Creases to bottom left corner of sheet, not affecting map. Italian text on verso. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £400.00 |
| Stock ID | 43062 |