Decorative map of South-east Asia (East Indies) with elaborate compass and fine illustrations.

This map is written in Latin text, titled Asiae Pars Australis Insulae Indicae
cum Suis Naturae Dotibus (“The Southern Part of Asia, the Indian Islands,
with the Gifts of Nature”). This name reflects early modern European
usage of the term “Indian Islands” for South-East Asia and the Indonesian
archipelago. Geographic coverage extends from Hainan in the north to Australia
(Nova Hollandia) in the south, and from Sri Lanka (Zeylon) in the west to
Guinea (Nova Guinea) in the east.

The map emphasises the “Gifts of Nature,” with extensive decorative fauna and
flora across land and sea. The seas contain flying fish, serpent-like sea
monsters, ambiguous fish forms, a narwhal, whale-like creatures, and a swimming
lion, likely a literalised sea lion. Landmasses feature animals both real and
imagined: New Guinea shows a large marsupial-like creature, possibly a tree
kangaroo; a neighbouring island depicts a small elephant; southern India
includes a winged quadruped with beak-like mouth; and further inland a large
flightless bird, most likely a flamingo. Borneo is illustrated with
rhinoceroses and camels. Northern Australia is richly adorned with palm trees,
fruiting plants, echidnas, other monotremes, a donkey, and several marsupials.

A large and elaborate compass, here called a Sea Rose (Rosa Nautica)
occupies the lower left corner, flanked by two wind heads. At its centre is a
spherical core marked with the four cardinal directions and an arrow marking the map as oriented north (Septentrionalis). This is enclosed by a four-pointed star
depicting the four winds, labelled in Italian, followed by an eight-pointed
star labelled with ancient Greek wind names. A further twelve-pointed star
names additional, lesser-known winds. The compass is enclosed within a circular
band divided into thirty-two numbered and lettered segments indicating precise
directional bearings.

Uncoloured. [SEAS2340]