Tabula Asiae II

Location

Country: Other
City: other locations abroad

This map is taken from Sebastian Münster’s 1540 illustrated Latin edition of ‘Geographia Universalis’ by Ptolemy (c.90-c.168AD; known as Claudius Ptolemaeus in Greek). The work only included maps but a later edition of 1550 also contained images of cities, portraits and costumes.

Münster's map titled ‘Tabula Asiae II’ shows~part of the region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, today part of south Russia. At the left, Noah’s Arc is indicated. According to the map, it was here that the Arc came to rest on a mountain.

Sebastian Münster was a German cartographer and scholar. He was born in Ingelheim, Germany; the son of Andreas Münster. In 1527 he was appointed Professor of Hebrew at the University of Basel. In 1544 he published the ‘Cosmographia’, the earliest description of the world, which ran to several editions, the last of which was published in 1628, long after his death. Münster edited a new edition of Claudius Ptolemy's ‘Geographia’ and also wrote ‘Dictionarium trilingue’ and ‘Mappa Europae’ (both published in 1536). Münster died from the plague at Basel, at the age of about 63.

Places

Caucasus, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia

Subjects

map (as Subject), topography, townscape/cityscape, mountain, river, sea

Materials & Techniques

woodcut, coloured woodcut

Artist

Sebastian M Münster (1489 - 1552)

Title

Tabula Asiae II

Date

c1550-c1580

Medium

Coloured woodcut

Dimensions

height: 32.50 cm, width: 41.50 cm

Acquisition

Bequest of Noel H. Marshall, 2008

Provenance

Bequest of Noel H. Marshall CMG, 2008

GAC number

18243