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Description

 A Rare and Exceptional Copperplate Map of Africa by Paolo Forlani

This remarkably rare and finely executed copperplate map of Africa was created by Paolo Forlani, a prominent figure of the Lafreri school.

As is customary with Forlani’s work, the map draws heavily on the work of Giacomo Gastaldi. However, since Gastaldi's wall map of Africa was not published until 1564, the source for this depiction is believed to be a now-lost fresco painted by Gastaldi in 1549 on a wall of the Doge's Palace at the request of the Consiglio dei Dieci (Council of Ten). 

One year after creating his first map of Africa in 1562, Forlani produced this large-scale map, printed from two copper plates, which is largely identical to his 1562 map.  Published by Camocio, the cartouche retains its original shape, though the dedication now honors the Flemish poet Nicolaus Stopius (d. 1568 in Venice) rather than Tommaso Rangoni. The map features a significant geographical alteration, extending eastward to include the western coasts of the Indian peninsula and the Maldives archipelago, drawing on Giacomo Gastaldi's Il Disegno della seconda parte dell'Asia (1561) as a source.

Beyond the compass rose carried over from the earlier version, the map includes intricate illustrations such as galleys, sea monsters, and a striking depiction of Noah's Ark afloat in the Indian Ocean, with a dove returning with an olive branch.  As was common with Camocio’s publications, the map underwent several editions in rapid succession, and after the publisher’s death in 1575, it passed into the Bertelli printing house, where it was reprinted in 1593.

This map represents the second modern copperplate map of Africa, preceded only by Forlani's 1562 map, also published by Camocio. The first edition of this map, dated 1563, survives in only three known copies.  The map is rich in detail, depicting Africa from the Mediterranean to the Cape of Good Hope and spanning from the Canary Islands in the west to India in the east. The topographical and nomenclatural details reflect the evolving geographical knowledge of the mid-16th century. 

Forlani revised his depiction of Africa across several iterations, and while the coastline and decorative elements of the cartouche remain consistent, the second state introduces significant changes. The dedication to Tomasso Ravenna, present in the earlier version, is replaced with a new inscription by Nicolaas De Stoop, a Venetian publisher whose name appears on several of Forlani’s works. Addressing the reader with the phrase "Ad candidum et cordatum lectorem Nicolaus Stopius…" ("Nicolaus Stopius to the honest and wise reader"), De Stoop describes Africa and emphasizes the expansion of the map to include the Indian subcontinent. 

The title translates as follows:

Africa. In ancient times, before the region that we now call the New World was discovered by the Spanish, Africa was considered the third part of the world. It is separated from the other parts by the Strait of Hercules (Gibraltar) and the Nile, and it was called Libya and Hesperia by the Greeks. In the beginning, it was inhabited by the Getuli and Libyans, who lived as rough and uncultivated people, eating raw meat as their food and dwelling on the ground in the manner of beasts.

Many believe that Africa took its name from Afer, the grandson of Abraham through his son Medan, when he pitched his camp in Libya; others think it was named after Afer, the son of Hercules. It is also believed that in this region, the cold is not as intensely felt. However, as this is not the place to recount the opinions of all authors, we have decided to refrain.

This part of the world has always been, more than any other, the source of extraordinary events, as ancient histories abundantly recount. Now, the depiction of this most remarkable part of the world, together with the surrounding regions — especially the area bordering India — has been recently engraved in copper with exceptional clarity and elegance, surpassing any prior efforts, through the diligence and expense of Giovanni Francesco Camocio. It has been made available to all who are passionate about learning.

Therefore, regard his work and sincere devotion to all students of cosmography with fairness and goodwill. Farewell.

Forlani's Sources

The general consensus among scholars is that Forlani based his cartography largely on Gastaldi's prior output, whether in the form of his 1548 regional atlas maps, or in the mural map made for the Doge's Palace for the Council of Ten. 

Bifolco & Ronca (2018: 91):

It is very likely that this map follows the handwritten mural, prepared in 1549 by Giacomo Gastaldi at the request of the Council of Ten, who in 1546 entrusted the Piedmontese cartographer with the task of creating a map of Africa and one of Asia to decorate the Ducal Palazzo. The fresco was lost, and the printed version engraved by Forlani would be the only testimony, although it does not contain any explicit reference to Gastaldi's work.

Betz draws attention to Forlani's apparent use of Gastaldi's northern and southern Africa from the 1548 atlas. As well as commenting on the likelihood that Forlani copied Gastaldi's mural map as his base:

It is interesting to note that this map appears to greatly resemble Gastaldi's eight-sheet map prepared two years later in 1564. Karrow (1993: 243) states that it is possible that Forlani had access, with or without Gastaldi's approval, to the large map of Africa that Gastaldi made for the wall of the Doge's Palace in Venice in 1549 to show the new discoveries. The author tends to agree with this theory.

The Arabian Peninsula

Detail on the Arabian Peninsula appears derived from Gastaldi's 1561 map of the Arabian peninsula, although placenames have been changed slightly. For example, Deserto de Agiaz (east of Medina) is written "Hegiaz" on the earlier map. On the presented map, a new name appears in Kuwait, "Rach," replacing "Regno de Anna." Baharem and Quessimi likely correspond to an inverted Qatar and Bahrein, which had been occupied forty years earlier by the Portuguese, before being replaced by the Ottomans in 1550. Near the present-day United Arab Emirates, Forlani reproduces Gastaldi's place names and cities. 

States

The map is known in 4 states:

  • State 1:  Dated M.D.LXIII, with Camocio and Forlani's names.
  • State 2:  Dated M.D.LXVI
  • State 3:  Dated M.D.LXVI, with Camocio's name and address erased.  Now issued by Bertelli.
  • State 4:  Dated M.D.LXXXIII.  Includes signature Apud Donatum Bertellum. 

Condition Description
2 sheets, joined.
Reference
Betz 6.1. Bifolco & Ronca (2018: 91) first state of two.
Paolo Forlani Biography

Paolo Forlani (fl. ca. 1560-1571) was a prolific map engraver based in Venice. All that is known of his life are his surviving maps and prints, of which there are almost 100 (185 with later states included in the total). He also produced a globe and two town books.  It is likely he came from Verona and that he died in Venice in the mid-1570s, possibly of the plague.