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Sebastian Munster Map of Africa

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Maps, Atlases & Globes Start Price:175.00 USD Estimated At:700.00 - 1,000.00 USD
Sebastian Munster Map of Africa
<B>Sebastian Munster Map of Africa,</B></I> <I>AFRICA/ LYBIA/ MOZENLANDE MIT ALLEN KONIGREICHEN SO ZU UNSEREN ZEITEN DARIN GEFUNDEN WERDEN,</B></I> 14.75" x 11", German, ca. 1550. An engaging masterpiece of late medieval cartography, this hand-colored woodcut presents a squat, very wide Africa based on the Ptolemaic model of the 2nd century. Crowns with scepters denote known kingdoms amid a landscape of fantacized mountain ranges and jungles. According to Munster, the Nile rises from three lakes in the interior. Most jarring is the one-eyed giant - a "Monoculus" - shown in the vicinity of present-day Sierra Leone. Other creatures depicted are a grazing elephant and a quartet of parrots. Everything is rendered in brilliant colors. Professionally mounted in modern gilt wood and gesso frame. Dimensions overall are 22" x 18.5". Central fold, else fine condition.