Made by the Genoese cartographer Battista Agnese and included in a manuscript atlas of 33 charts produced in Venice on 1 September 1553, this depiction of Africa reflects the mature phase of Renaissance cartography, halfway between nautical portolan and decorative map. The coasts are traced with good accuracy for the Mediterranean and Atlantic routes, while the interior of the continent remains largely conjectural, peopled with idealised rivers, symbolic cities and vignettes of rulers, exotic animals and biblical scenes, in keeping with the Ptolemaic tradition and the European imagination of the "dark continent". Executed on vellum and intended for aristocratic patrons, the work is at once an instrument of political prestige and a work of art devoted to the geographical knowledge of the time.
Unique quality material
Print on handmade Amalfi paper Sheet size: 29 x 42 cm (11.4 x 16.5 in) With frame: 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in) Material: artwork printed on very fine handmade Amalfi paper with deckled edges Frame: light brown beech wood and wood pulp, handmade
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