Mappamondo Antico diviso nell’uno e nell’altro continente secondo la mente [...]

Description: Mappamondo Antico diviso nell’uno e nell’altro continente secondo la mente di Guglielmo Sanson A stunning 1801 Italian world map with allegorical imagery and Classical references.The map is decorative, at once both allegorical and accessible to the modern viewer. We immediately recognize representations of the four continents in the four corners of the map:Europe is represented by Europa on the back of Zeus turned into a bull, the scenography strikingly similar to a famous fresco uncovered at Pompeii.At the opposite corner, Asia sits atop a reclining camel. She waves a burning incense holder, and holds a bouquet of flowers and spices.For her part, Africa reclines regally as if on a throne, one arm resting atop a lion, and the other hand holding an elephant tusk. A cornucopia filled with grain represents North Africa’s important and enduring role as a supplier of wheat to Europe.And finally, America is a female warrior (Amazon); she wears a feathered diadem and raises a long spear, which she is about to thrust into a a large reptile. It is the most savage scene of the four, reflecting a long tradition of depicting America as untamed and dangerous.Cassini was a student of the great Italian classicist and artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi, and it is thus no surprise that this map is imbued with an intellectual trajectory that is rooted in Classical Antiquity. Geography was one of the great schools of learning in Antiquity and Cassini has spread references to classical authors in strategic positions throughout the map. These include quotations by Plato, Seneca, Aelianus, and more. There are multiple references to the mythical (?) island of Atlantis.CensusThis map was published in the third volume of Cassini’s Nuovo Atlante Geografico Universale delineato sulle ultime osservazioni, which was commissioned by the Calcografia Camerale in Rome. The first volume was published in 1792, the second in 1797, and then a third in 1801. Cartographer(s): Giovanni Maria Cassini (1745 – 1824), a disciple of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, was a geographer, cartographer, and engraver working in Rome for decades between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He invented a new method of projection, called Cassini, famously used for the geographical atlas of the kingdom of Naples in 32 sheets signed by Giovanni Antonio Rizzi Zannoni.

Price: 1700 USD

Location: Belvedere Tiburon, California

End Time: 2024-08-07T13:55:18.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD

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Item Specifics

Restocking Fee: No

Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer

All returns accepted: Returns Accepted

Item must be returned within: 14 Days

Refund will be given as: Money Back

Date Range: 1800-1899

Printing Technique: Copper Plate

Year: 1801

Map View: World

Original/Reproduction: Antique Original

Cartographer/Publisher: Giovanni Maria Cassini

Dimensions: 60.5 x 43 cm (23.5 x 17 in)

Place: Rome