A decorative and historically significant 1759 map of the Holy Land by Tobias Conrad Lotter, illustrating the ancient regions of Judah and Israel with divisions among the Twelve Tribes and referencing key biblical events and locations.
Tobias Conrad Lotter, an influential mid-18th-century German cartographer, created this detailed map of the Holy Land, which not only delineates the regions of Judah and Israel but also highlights the divisions among the Twelve Tribes on both sides of the Jordan River. The map incorporates a wealth of information on towns, roads, mountains, rivers, and other geographical features based on biblical teachings. Lotter married Matthäus Seutter's daughter in 1740 and succeeded him in 1756, becoming a prominent map publisher in the German school.
The map's artistic features include an elaborate title cartouche with a woman holding the Tablets of the Law and Joshua bearing a flag inscribed with the names of the Tribes. Additionally, a small, intricate allegorical cartouche at the bottom right corner of the map portrays the Exodus. Lotter utilized Seutter's copperplate for this map, only altering the name to reflect his own.
Tobias Conrad Lotter (1717-1777) is one of the best-known German mapmakers of the eighteenth century. He engraved many of the maps published by Matthaus Seutter, to whose daughter Lotter was married. He took over Seutter’s business in 1756. Lotter’s son, M. A. Lotter, succeeded his father in the business.