Tabula Asiae XII

Finely colored example of Munster's map of Taprobana, the island of Ceylon, which was sometimes confused with Sumatra on early maps.

In the top left is a superb woodcut of the Pascua Elephantum (an elephant at pasture) which Ptolemy wrote in his Geographia, of seeing at the base of the Malli Mountains. In the lower left is a decorative cartouche which includes a note indicating that the island was a rich source of ivory. In ancient times, Sri Lanka was known by various names, Ptolemy named it Taprobana, the Arabs Serendib, the Portuguese called it Ceilo and the British Ceylon.

Situated at the centre of numerous trade routes through the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka was always an important trading link between east and west. As a major exporter of cinnamon, Arab and Chinese traders had frequented the island since early times and it served as an important stop for merchants on the maritime route between Asia and Europe. Much confusion existed among medieval mapmakers as to the identities of the islands of Taprobana and Sumatra which arose primarily from the descriptions in the ancient texts which stated that Taprobana was the largest island in the world. This was later contradicted by Marco Polo in his Il Milione in which he stated that it was Java Minor (Sumatra) that was in fact the largest island. As Sumatra was virtually unknown to most medieval mapmakers their primary concern was the placement of Taprobana on maps. Invariably it was incorrectly positioned off the southeast coast of Arabia but once the accounts of Marco Polo were revealed at the end of the thirteenth century, the eastern limits of the Indian Ocean were greatly expanded and the question as to the identity of the islands became more critical for mapmakers.

The Portuguese arrived on the island in 1505 and by 1518 had built a fort in Colombo, enabling them to control strategic coastal areas they had previously captured. Once Portuguese information and charts were copied, the position of Ceylon and the confusion with Sumatra was corrected.

Although, some scholars believe it is actually a depiction of the island of Sumatra. The surrounding islands are located near where Nias, Enggano and Mentawis are relative to Sumatra. The land in the upper-right corner is correct for Malaysia. Several towns and village are located (close to present cities of Lampung, Medan, Sibolga and Banda Aceh. Mountains and waterways are also located - also very near where they are found today.

Map taken from the Geographia universalis, vetus et nova, complectens. Claudii Ptolemaei Alexandrini Ennarationis libros VIII, published for the first time in 1540 in Basel by Heinrich Petri, stepson of Münster and his trusted printer.

The book is illustrated by 27 maps built following the indications of Ptolemy, which are flanked by 21 "modern" maps, outlined on the basis of recent geographical discoveries. The Geographia of Münster was a great success, and Petri reprinted it the following year (1541) and then in 1542..

Having increased the number of modern maps by six, including the Carta Marina of Olao Magnus describing Scandinavia, the publisher reprinted it again in 1545, in 1551 and finally in 1552, still with 54 maps, but with the substitution of Pomerania in place of Lake Constance. At the death of Münster the work was not reprinted; some of the maps were instead used by Heinrich Petri for the posthumous editions of the Cosmographiae Universalis. The woodblock of the maps, duly amended, were used for the Rerum Geographicarum of Strabo, edition printed in Basileae: Ex Officina Henricpetriana, 1571 Mense Augusto.

Woodcut with fine later hand colour, in very good condition.

References

Moreland p.82, 302, Parry p.65-67, Shirley p.76, Suarez (A) p.101.