Lot #: 47940

[Title page for] Theatrum Orbis Terrarum.

Maker / Publisher:		ORTELIUS, A.
Place & Date:		Antwerp, after 1570
Colored:		In attractive original colors.
Size:		367 x 230 mm / 14.4 x 9.1 inches
Condition:		A bit soiled in the margins, as usual. General in good condition.

$600 / ≈ €526

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Description

A decorative title page of the first atlas ever made shows five female figures as allegorical representatives of the continents, grouped around the title. According to Peter van der Krogt in Atlantes Neerlandici; Ortelius's engravers made three almost identical plates for the title page: plate A (1570), plate B (1579), and plate C, used for non-Latin editions beginning in 1572.
This is the A version, being one of the earliest printed title pages in fine strong original colors.

The crowned and enthroned figure at the top is Europe, the empress of the world. The scepter in her right hand is an emblem of her authority and by means of the rudder held in her left hand, she steers the affairs of the world. The large cross signifies her Christian (Catholic) religion.
The figure at her right hand on the left of the title is Asia, richly dressed as an oriental princess with gems and precious stones. In her left hand is a thurible, full of fragrant incense, and the aromatic fumes issuing from it represent oriental mystery.
Africa, standing on the opposite pedestal, is black; burnt as a result of the impetuous chariot ride of Phacthon unable to control the horses of his sun-father Helios. Africa's head glows with her heat and in her hand, she holds a sprig of balsam whose unique provenance was thought to be Egypt.
The reclining figure at the foot is America thought to be the first allegorical representation of that continent. She depicts south America with weapons and hunting equipment appropriate to her status as an Amazonian warrior. The severed head hints at the practices of cannibalism which are elaborated in lascivious detail in Van Meetkerke's poem.

Finally, there is the truncated bust of a fifth figure: she represents Magellanica, the terra incognita or virgin land as yet unexplored. The fires burning below her breast correspond to those sighted by Magellan and hence the lands named thereafter Tierra del Fuego and Magellanica.

Reference: V.d.Krogt, Atlantes Neerlandici, vol.IIIA, plate 31:1A.

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Color Key
We offer many maps in their original black and white condition. We do not systematically color-up maps to make them more sellable to the general public or buyer.
Copper engraved or wood block maps are always hand colored. Maps were initially colored for aesthetic reasons and to improve readability. Nowadays, it is becoming a challenge to find maps in their original colors and are therefor more valuable.
We use the following color keys in our catalog:
Original colors; mean that the colors have been applied around the time the map was issued.
Original o/l colors; means the map has only the borders colored at the time of publication.
Colored; If the colors are applied recently or at the end of the 20th century.
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