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Description

A finely engraved map of Denmark by John Senex, one of the most prominent English mapmakers of the early 18th century. Drawn from the latest geodetic observations compiled under the auspices of the Royal Societies in London and Paris, the map exemplifies the period’s empirical cartography while retaining the baroque visual language of the grand atlas tradition.

The map covers the full extent of the Danish kingdom, including Jutland, Zealand, Funen, Lolland, Falster, Schleswig, and Holstein, along with coastal parts of northern Germany and southern Sweden. Towns, rivers, roads, and political boundaries are clearly delineated, with navigational features, shoals, and soundings shown in the German Sea, Schager Rack, and Baltick Sea. The islands and belts between them are treated with exceptional care, reflecting the commercial and strategic importance of Danish maritime corridors in the early modern period.

At the upper right, the title is framed in an elaborate cartouche featuring allegorical figures representing abundance, trade, navigation, and learning. The centerpiece of the composition, both artistically and politically, is the Danish royal lesser coat of arms, prominently engraved below the title. The shield bears the traditional three lions passant surrounded by nine hearts, a centuries-old symbol of the Danish monarchy. It is flanked by two muscular wildmen, bearded, semi-nude figures crowned with oak leaves and bearing clubs, who serve as supporters. These wildmen had appeared in Danish heraldry since the 15th century and by this period had become iconic of the Danish royal state: guardians of the realm’s ancient northern strength, primal virtue, and territorial unity.

In the lower left, a decorative cartouche contains a presentation to John Affleck, Esq., a Suffolk landowner who died in 1718. His family coat of arms and motto, "Pretiosum Quod Utile" ("That which is useful is precious"), are engraved above the scallop shell framing the dedication. The inscription reads: “This Map is humbly Dedicated and Presented by John Senex”.

A fine example of Senex’s work at the height of his career, combining Enlightenment cartographic accuracy with theatrical visual rhetoric.

Condition Description
Original hand-color in outline. Engraving on two sheets of 18th-century laid paper.
John Senex Biography

John Senex (1678-1740) was one of the foremost mapmakers in England in the early eighteenth century. He was also a surveyor, globemaker, and geographer. As a young man, he was apprenticed to Robert Clavell, a bookseller. He worked with several mapmakers over the course of his career, including Jeremiah Seller and Charles Price. In 1728, Senex was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society, a rarity for mapmakers. The Fellowship reflects his career-long association as engraver to the Society and publisher of maps by Edmund Halley, among other luminaries. He is best known for his English Atlas (1714), which remained in print until the 1760s. After his death in 1740 his widow, Mary, carried on the business until 1755. Thereafter, his stock was acquired by William Herbert and Robert Sayer (maps) and James Ferguson (globes).