Map of Asia by Gerrit Van Schagen (1642-1690) showing the north coast of Australia and part of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Title cartouche on lower left shows Tritons, sea nymphs and Nereids. On upper left costumed natives are shown with a palm tree, monkey and beaver. 52 x 62cm.
The map by Gerritt Van Schagen (1642-1690) captures the European misconceptions of Africa typical of the late seventeenth century. The Nile appears to be rising from the three lakes of Zaire, Zembre and Zafflan. The prime meridian, the zero-degree longitude line, is plotted through the Canary Islands which to the ancients was the western edge of the inhabited world. The interior is decorated with monkeys, elephants, lions, rhinoceroses, leopard and ostriches. The sea is decorated with ships, whales and flying fish. The title cartouche in the upper left right is surrounded by two Africans, one holding a scorpion and the other a cornucopia with sea sprites at their feet. The elaborate decoration at the lower left is Neptune surrounded by his wife, Amphitrite, and their sons, the Tritons, along with Nereids, the sea nymphs. 52 x 62cm.
Very elaborate map of the Seventeen Provinces of the Low Countries by Gerrit Van Schagen (1642-1690). North oriented to the right. Figures in title cartouche in upper right include Athena and Pheme. Elaborate explanatory key at upper left. Dangling from the key cartouche is the family crest of Johan Munter, a Dutch East India Company director and burgomaster of Amsterdam. His importance in Amsterdam is evident in the text below the key. 52 x 62cm.
