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ASIA AND THE AGE OF DISCOVERY: A DUTCH GOLDEN AGE MAP BY JOHANNES JANSSONIUS

The map is engraved and hand-coloured in outline with later enhancements. The title cartouche is surmounted by figures dressed in Oriental costume. Decorative elements include sailing ships, sea monsters, and compass roses.

This fine early 17th-century map of Asia, titled Asia recens summa cura delineata, was produced by Johannes Janssonius,... ASIA AND THE AGE OF DISCOVERY: A DUTCH GOLDEN AGE MAP BY JOHANNES JANSSONIUS

The map is engraved and hand-coloured in outline with later enhancements. The title cartouche is surmounted by figures dressed in Oriental costume. Decorative elements include sailing ships, sea monsters, and compass roses.

This fine early 17th-century map of Asia, titled Asia recens summa cura delineata, was produced by Johannes Janssonius, one of the most prominent Dutch cartographers of the Golden Age of Dutch mapmaking. It presents an ornate and highly detailed depiction of the Asian continent, bounded to the west by the eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea and to the east by a truncated and stylised coast of North America, suggesting the ongoing European exploration and speculative geography of the time.

Drawn heavily from earlier work by Willem Blaeu and based on Mercator’s projections, the map displays a vast and imaginative understanding of Asia, typical of Dutch cartographic workshops of the early 1600s. Important cities, regions, and physical features are labelled in Latin, including “Mare Rubrum” (Red Sea), “Mare Indicum” (Indian Ocean), and “Sinæ” (China). Prominent mythological and decorative elements, such as sailing ships, exotic animals, and sea creatures, populate the oceans, enhancing the visual appeal and cultural significance of the work.

This edition likely dates from the first half of the 17th century (c. 1630–1650), a period in which Janssonius expanded and republished maps for the monumental Atlas Novus series, his competition to Blaeu's Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. The presence of “Americae pars” and speculative geography along the eastern edge of the map reflects contemporary fascination with the Pacific and ongoing maritime exploration.

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