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Rare decorative paneled map of Asia from Pierre D'Avity's Les Etats, Empires Royaumes…du Monde, by an unknown map maker (likely Jean Picart), based upon the maps of Jodocus Hondius and Jan Jansson.
This is a mid-17th-century map of Asia, published in Paris, given the distinctive style of decorative cartography and the inclusion of illustrations typical of Dutch mapmakers such as Jodocus Hondius or Willem Blaeu. The map depicts Asia with a focus on geographic detail and embellishments that reflect the cartographic artistry of the period.
The central map displays a meticulously detailed outline of Asia, including major regions and territories such as Tartary, Persia, the Indian subcontinent, China, and Southeast Asia.
Unusual cartographic features include the narrow Corea Isthmus (Isthmus of Korea, which until recently had been shown as an Island), curious misoriented Japan, oversized depiction of the Philippines, oddly shapped Zeylan (Sri Lanka) and exaggerated Maldives. The depiction of the Ganges as 5 major rivers flowing south from a single lake is also fascinating. The Great Wall of China is depicted, although internally, its system of interlocking waterways is quite early and inaccurate.
The map is surrounded by richly illustrated borders featuring cityscapes, costume studies, and depictions of cultural figures. At the top, vignettes of notable cities such as Famagusta (Malta), Rodus (Rhodes), Damacus, Jerusalem, Aden, and Ormuz are displayed, emphasizing Asia's historic trade and cultural hubs. Along the sides, there are panels depicting the diverse peoples and attire of Asia, categorized by regions such as Syr[ians], Arabes, Persian Armenians, Sumatra Islanders, Javanese, Molukkan Islanders, Chinensis, Muscovitae, and Tartari." These illustrations serve as both visual embellishments and ethnographic representations, albeit romanticized and Eurocentric.
This map reflects the height of European cartographic ambition during the Age of Exploration, when mapmakers combined geographic knowledge with artistic expression. The map serves both as a practical tool for navigation and trade and as a collector's item showcasing European perspectives on distant lands. The costumes and city vignettes highlight the era's fascination with exoticism and the desire to categorize and comprehend the wider world.
Jodocus Hondius the Elder (1563-1612), or Joost de Hondt, was one of the most prominent geographers and engravers of his time. His work did much to establish Amsterdam as the center of cartographic publishing in the seventeenth century. Born in Wakken but raised in Ghent, the young Jodocus worked as an engraver, instrument maker, and globe maker.
Hondius moved to London in 1584, fleeing religious persecution in Flanders. There, he worked for Richard Hakluyt and Edward Wright, among others. Hondius also engraved the globe gores for Emery Molyneux’s pair of globes in 1592; Wright plotted the coastlines. His engraving and nautical painting skills introduced him to an elite group of geographic knowledge seekers and producers, including the navigators Drake, Thomas Cavendish, and Walter Raleigh, as well as engravers like Theodor De Bry and Augustine Ryther. This network gave Hondius access to manuscript charts and descriptions which he then translated into engraved maps.
In 1593 Hondius returned to Amsterdam, where he lived for the rest of his life. Hondius worked in partnership with Cornelis Claesz, a publisher, and maintained his ties to contacts in Europe and England. For example, from 1605 to 1610, Hondius engraved the plates for John Speed’s Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine.
One of Hondius’ most successful commercial ventures was the reprinting of Mercator’s atlas. When he acquired the Mercator plates, he added 36 maps, many engraved by him, and released the atlas under Mercator’s name, helping to solidify Mercator’s reputation posthumously. Hondius died in 1612, at only 48 years of age, after which time his son of the same name and another son, Henricus, took over the business, including the reissuing of the Mercator atlas. After 1633, Hondius the Elder’s son-in-law, Johannes Janssonius, was also listed as a co-publisher for the atlas.
