Richly coloured map of Southeast Asia (East Indies) in the
Dutch Golden Age style. India is titled Indostan, with the Ganges River
prominently traced; the Bay of Bengal appears as the Gulf of the Ganges;
Taiwan appears as Formosa, and Thailand as Siam. Japan’s islands
are partially depicted with distorted spacing. Australia, here titled as New
Holland, has the northern part of the continent mapped but is bereft of
detail, with only the northeastern-most coastline having several noted
locations. Borneo is particularly oversized, and Sulawesi’s shape is noticeably
deformed. The western coast of New Guinea is also undefined.

The map features a beautiful title cartouche in the lower-left.
The cartouche is adorned with floral wreaths, oriental ceramics and items of
trade, such as woven silks and pearls. The cartouche is flanked by depictions
of indigenous people in their traditional dress; one man dressed in a dǒulì and
hanfu is engaged in conversation with a European.

This map
was originally engraved by Frederick de Wit in Amsterdam during the late 17th
century. De Wit was a prolific Dutch cartographer known for his richly colored
atlases and individual maps. Following his death in 1706, his collection of
engraved plates was auctioned to Pierre Mortier in 1710. Later, Pierre’s son
Cornelis Mortier partnered with Johannes Covens, who had married Cornelis’
sister, forming the publishing house Covens & Mortier around 1720. This
firm did not produce original maps but reissued successful plates inherited or
acquired from previous publishers, including de Wit’s works. This map was published
by them in the early days of the firm.

Original colour. [SEAS2312]