Carte du Golfe de Bengale, Mer des Indes, et Riviere du Gange, Avec les Païs et Iles d‘alentour, Savoir les Côtes de Malabar, Cormandel, Ile de Ceylon, les Maldives, les Rolaumes de Visiapour, Golconda, Guzaratte, etc.

Circa 1720

Later hand-coloured copper engraving on paper

Without mount: 11.2 x 14 in (28.5 x 35.8 cm)
With mount: 18.2 x 21 in (46.3 x 53.5 cm)

Detailed map of the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and southern India, published in Leiden by Vander Aa.

The region is covered in great depth on the map, including topographical information. This amazing map shows the Maldives, Ceylon, and the southern portion of India. There is a rectangular picture frame cartouche in the bottom right corner. Depth soundings are given along the east coast. A few internal towns are shown on the map, but ports and regional borders are the main points of interest.

Pieter van der Aa (1659-1733)
Dutch publisher of atlases and maps Pieter van der Aa operated in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. In 1659, Van der Aa was born in Leyden into a family of German Holstein stonecutters. It's interesting to note that the three van der Aa sons eventually got into the printing industry. Boudewyn was a printer, while Hildebrand was a copper engraver.

Van der Aa started working as an apprentice for a local bookseller at the age of nine. By the time he was twenty-one, he had printed, published, and held auctions. He was named one of the Booksellers Guild's High Commissioners in 1692. Van der Aa created thousands of maps during the course of his lengthy and distinguished career, including, between 1706 and 1708 a massive 28-volume atlas Naauweurige versameling der gedenkwaardigste zee- en land-reysen that included no fewer than 3,000 maps. Van der Aa created very few original maps; the majority were reproductions of earlier cartographers' work. Even so, Van der Aa's distinctive style, which combines exquisite engraving, odd projections, and exact detail—makes his rare original pieces extremely sought-after and readily identifiable. Additionally, he invented the cartography technique of isolating the artwork for the border from the map plate itself, allowing each map in a collection to have an identically ornate border without the need to re-engrave the intricate plates. Publishers like Brion de la Tour from the later 18th century employed this strategy with remarkable success.

The Galérie agréable du monde, which was finished in 1729, was divided into 66 sections and was bound into 27 volumes. Van der Aa portrayed it as a wise investment, pointing out that the work's antiquarian value would increase after publication — all the more so considering it was printed in a restricted edition of just 100 copies.

Van der Aa's highly regarded Nouvel Atlas was reprinted by the Dutch company Covens & Mortier after his death in 1733. These days, collectors find Van der Aa's work to be quite desirable due to its exquisite, delicate etching and unique projections.

This work will be shipped unframed

NON-EXPORTABLE

This lot will be shipped in "as is" condition. For further details, please refer to the images of individual lots as reference for the condition of each lot.