Africa Tabula XII

Very rare map of Africa from Geografia di M. Livio Sanuto: distinta in XII libri: ne quali, oltra l'esplicatione di molti luoghi di Tolomeo, e della Bussola, e dell'Aguglia, si dichiarano le Prouincie, Popoli, Regni... dell'Africa. Con XII tauole di esse Africa in dissegno di rame / aggiuntiui de piu tre Indici da M. Giouan Carlo Saraceni...; [aiutato a ciò da Giulio suo fratello, che di propia mano tagliò tutti li Rami.

This is the first atlas devoted exclusively to Africa, with plates drawn by Livio Sanuto and finely translated into copper by his brother Giulio. The work was published posthumously in Venice in 1588, by Damiano Zenaro and edited by Carlo Saraceni.

“This map, like all of Sanuto's maps in the atlas, is elegantly engraved with attention to fine detail. The engraving of the map of Africa is attributed to Livio Sanuto's brother, Giulio. Sanuto based his map's general outline and the coordinates for most placenames, especially along the coastlines, on Gastaldi's 1564 wall map, as well as Portuguese sea charts. Biasutti (1920) believed that Sanuto did not know the Gastaldi wall map but only the smaller versions produced in Venice by Forlani in 1562 and Giovanni Francesco Camocio Paulo Forlani in 1563. This seems unlikely as the Gastaldi wall map of Africa, like Sanuto's map, was produced in Venice and was well known by 1588. For the interior, Sanuto, like his contemporaries, had access to a vast amount of information, some fanciful and some based on fact, taken from the numerous books of the period (Cadamosto for West Africa, Leo Africanus for North and West Africa, Francisco Alvares for Ethiopia, Duarte Barbosa and João de Barros for East and Southern Africa, and Ramusio's Volume I of 1550 for the earlier accounts. Unlike some of his contemporaries, Sanuto follows the text sources more conservatively and does not locate placenames somewhat indiscriminately over the map. The result is a map that has fewer place- names in the interior. As Relaño (2002: 213) notes, Sanuto attempts to re-locate Abyssinian place- names north of the Equator away from their southern orientation on other maps of this period. For example, the region of Amara is further north of the Equator on Sanuto's map.

Livio Sanuto (c1520-1576) was a Venetian cosmographer, mathematician, inventor of astronomical instruments, and maker of terrestrial globes. Sanuto along with his brother, Giulio (active from 1540- 1588), planned to produce a comprehensive atlas with maps of all regions of the world that was intended to be more accurate than any previously published. Sanuto started his work by preparing descriptive text and a series of maps of Africa. He died, however, at the age of 56 in 1576 before the text and maps for any further areas of the world could be undertaken. It is not precisely known when Sanuto wrote his Geograpfia. Skelton (1965c) theorizes that the text was prepared between 1561 and 1575. By 1561, Sanuto had established his reputation as a geographer. By that time, he had been admitted for membership into the 'Accademia della Fama' in Venice.

Sanuto's atlas Geograpfia di M. Livio Sanuto..., showing all parts of Africa (12 maps in total with a map of the continent and regional maps), was published posthumously in 1588 by Damiano Zenaro. It is curious that there was a delay of 12 years between the time of Sanuto's death and the publication of the atlas. Likely, as the other parts of the world were not undertaken and as Africa was of secondary interest to the new discoveries in the Americas and in the East, there was not a tremendous pressure to produce the atlas. For those seeking geographic information on Africa, the description provided by Leo Africanus was by this time readily available in French and Latin, with a soon-to-be-published English edition.

The text for the Geograpfia provides an exceptional description of Africa and thoroughly summarizes sixteenth century knowledge of Africa. Based on Sanuto's careful and meticulous attention to detail. coupled with the finely engraved maps, there is little doubt that had Sanuto lived and been able to complete his atlas, it likely would have ranked as one of the masterpieces of Renaissance geographical work (Skelton 1965c: viii)” (cfr. R. Betz, The Mapping of Africa, p. 146).

Copperplate engraving, printed on contemporary laid paper with "three mountains in circle under a star" (Woodward n. 146), perfectly executed restorations to the central fold and to some woodworm holes present in the upper and lower white part, otherwise in excellent condition.

Bibliografia

R. Betz, The Mapping of Africa, pp. 145-146, map 22; Relaño 2002: 213; Norwich 1997: map # 15; Loeb-Larocque 1989; Skelton 1965c; Almàgia 1946; Biasutti 1920: 327-346 and 387-436.