We are a retired couple now in our early 80s who have been collecting African, and other, art for over 60 years.
From the mid-1960s through the early 1970s, we lived in several African countries and travelled extensively in others.
But that was then.
Now: We recently sold our large home and are moving into much smaller accommodations.
We find ourselves with a need to do some serious downsizing.
Too much stuff!
It is time for us to help some of our objects find a new Happy Home.
This listing is for a set of three maps on a single sheet prepared by Athanasius Kircher and printed in Amsterdam in 1678.
Each map presents a different view of the source of the Nile River.
1\.
The first map is based on information from the Portuguese merchant and explorer Duarte Lopes.
Lopez first arrived in the Congo in 1578.
He became the ambassador of Congo’s King Alvaro II to the Pope and Philip II of Spain.
His papers were published in 1591.
They provided one of the earliest European descriptions of Central Africa, and remained one of the chief sources for information up to the middle of the 19th century.
2\.
The second map shows information derived from early Arab cartographic sources.
3\.
The third map (oriented with south at the top) is based on information from the Spanish Jesuit missionary and explorer Pedro Paez, who arrived in Ethiopia in early 1603 after a long and arduous journey that included seven years of enslavement.
A year after his arrival he was received at the Emperor’s court.
Charming, erudite, and soon fluent in the local language, he had many influential friends and quickly became a favorite of then Emperor, Za-Denghel, and later his successors.
In 1618, in the company the later Emperor, Sousneyos, he is credited with being the first European to reach the source of the Blue Nile.
In the last years of his life he wrote a History of Ethiopia (covering the years from 1555 to 1622) to provide Europeans with reliable information on this African and Christian kingdom.
Maps from this era were intended to provide practical geographic information, but also to be aesthetically pleasing works of art.
All three of these maps are embellished with mountains, forests, citadels, exotic animals and sea monsters.
This map is in very good condition.
Please look at the photos carefully.
This map has been professionally framed.
Unfortunately, photo image quality is affected by photographing through the glass.
Pricing .
.
.
This map is offered at $950, including the professional framing.
I believe this is a fair price.
This same map is currently available from Barry Ruderman, a long-standing dealer of rare and antique maps, at significantly higher price: $1,200.
We have owned this map for over 20 years, but we are not map collectors.
If you are checking out this listing, it is likely that you are much more knowledgeable about this map than we are.
This, and several other maps, were part of a bulk African Art purchase we made of a private collection of over 100 objects.
The Holiday Season is here.
This map would make an unusual gift for a special person, or it could be an end of the year
treat for yourself.
Thank you for viewing.
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