Important Notice

More Images

MAPPING EMPIRE: SCHRAMBL’S MONUMENTAL FOUR-SHEET MAP OF BRITISH INDIA, AFTER RENNELL, 1788

A rare and monumental late 18th-century German-language map of the Indian subcontinent, engraved and published by the Viennese cartographer Franz Anton Schrambl, based closely on the pioneering surveys of James Rennell, particularly his Map of Hindoostan (1782).

Schrambl’s Neueste Karte von Hindostan presents an ambitious... MAPPING EMPIRE: SCHRAMBL’S MONUMENTAL FOUR-SHEET MAP OF BRITISH INDIA, AFTER RENNELL, 1788

A rare and monumental late 18th-century German-language map of the Indian subcontinent, engraved and published by the Viennese cartographer Franz Anton Schrambl, based closely on the pioneering surveys of James Rennell, particularly his Map of Hindoostan (1782).

Schrambl’s Neueste Karte von Hindostan presents an ambitious and finely detailed rendering of British-controlled and surrounding regions of India at a formative moment in East India Company expansion. Executed across four large sheets, the map displays with exceptional clarity the river systems, mountain passes, road networks, and administrative boundaries of the late Mughal and emerging British colonial landscape. The British possessions are shown in granular detail, reflecting current political boundaries and strategic nodes.

Typographically distinguished by elegant German copperplate engraving, this map was intended for a continental European audience and is among the most significant Austrian cartographic contributions to the geography of British India. Its design harmonises Enlightenment precision with aesthetic clarity, offering both a political document and a visual artefact of late 18th-century imperial geography.

The elaborate allegorical cartouche of Schrambl’s Neueste Karte von Hindostan (1788), derived from James Rennell’s 1782 map, offers a highly symbolic visualisation of British imperial ideology in late 18th-century India. According to Rennell’s own description, the scene represents Britannia seated in benevolent majesty, receiving the sacred books of the Hindus, presented reverentially by a group of learned Brahmins or Pundits. This gesture, emblematic of the supposed cultural stewardship of the British Empire, alludes specifically to the humane intervention of the British Parliament in 1781 on behalf of the native populations of Bengal.

Britannia is enthroned atop a pedestal inscribed with British military victories, notably those that secured and upheld Company dominion in India. These include the recent victories at Porto Novo and Sholinghur (1781), which were critical engagements in the Second Anglo-Mysore War. The pedestal is flanked by two Indian sepoys, one of whom gestures toward the commemorated battles, presenting them as legitimising acts of conquest in the narrative of imperial ascendancy.

Rich in iconographic detail, the cartouche operates as a visual manifesto of colonial benevolence and military triumph, synthesising classical allegory with contemporary geopolitical messaging. It is both a decorative flourish and a powerful artefact of 18th-century imperial propaganda.

Rare in this unjoined state, the sheets retain strong platemarks, crisp impressions, and vibrant original hand-colouring.

NON-EXPORTABLE

Read More
Artist Profile
Other works of this artist in: this auction  |  entire site