Indiae orientalis et insularum adiacentium antiqua et nova descriptio

Circa 1650–1690

Copper engraving on paper

Print size: 8.5 x 10.25 in (21.5 x 26 cm)
Sheet size: 9.75 x 14.25 in (25 x 36.5 cm)

India Orientalis et Insulae Adiacentes — A Dutch Golden Age Map of India and the East Indies

This finely engraved Dutch Golden Age map presents a sweeping seventeenth-century European vision of India, Bengal, China, and the East Indies, extending from Persia and the Mughal sphere to Siam, Java, Borneo, and the Philippine archipelago. Executed in crisp copperplate linework and enriched with a theatrical cartouche featuring elephants — emblematic of India’s imperial and exotic identity — the sheet exemplifies the visual authority and commercial ambition of Amsterdam’s cartographic industry.

The map articulates the Indian subcontinent through prominent references to the Mughal world, with the Ganges system rendered in striking hydrographic detail, underscoring Bengal’s economic and strategic centrality within Indo-Oceanic trade. Southeast Asia is mapped with particular density, reflecting the Dutch East India Company’s mercantile networks and the region’s growing geopolitical importance. China and Tartary appear in a transitional geographic framework, combining classical sources with emerging maritime and missionary intelligence.

Balancing empirical knowledge with inherited cosmographic conventions, the map captures a pivotal moment in the evolution of global cartography — when trade, empire, and science reshaped European spatial understanding of Asia. Its combination of decorative richness, historical resonance, and cartographic clarity positions it among the most desirable early modern representations of India and the East Indies.

A refined and visually compelling example, it holds strong appeal for collectors of Dutch cartography, colonial history, and the history of exploration.

NON-EXPORTABLE

This lot is offered at NO RESERVE

This lot will be shipped in "as is" condition. For further details, please refer to the images of individual lots as a reference for the condition of each lot.