c. 1697 – C. Allard – Regni Poloniae Magni Ducatus Lithuaniae
£2,258.00
Title: “Regni Poloniae, Magni Ducatus Lithuaniae, coeterumque Regi Poloniae subditarum regionum tabula ; In Omnes suos Ducatus, Palatinatus &c. divisa et in lucem edita a Carolo Allard , Amstelo Batavo . Cum Privilegio Ordinum Holandiae et Westfr.”
(Map of the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the other lands subject to the King of Poland, divided into all their duchies, palatinates etc., published by Carel Allard of Amsterdam. With the privilege of the States of Holland and West Friesland.)
Description:
A large and highly decorative map of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, published in Amsterdam by Carel Allard around 1697. This copy is uncoloured, which shows the fine engraving at its best.
The map covers the Baltic, with Gotland, Öland and Bornholm, down to the Black Sea and the Crimea. It runs from Pomerania, Moravia and Hungary in the west to Novgorod, Smolensk and Severia in the east. Each of the Commonwealth’s duchies and palatinates is named:
- North: Samogitia, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Courland and Livonia.
- Centre: Greater and Lesser Poland, Masovia and Polesia, with the Pinsk marshes.
- South and east: Volhynia, Podolia, Red Ruthenia and “Ukraina”, with the empty steppe of the Wild Fields (“Campi Deserti”) stretching towards the Crimean Tatars.
The Baroque decoration fills the right side of the map:
- The title cartouche: the title is set on a stone pedestal. Above it, two putti hold the arms of the Commonwealth, with the White Eagle of Poland and the Vytis of Lithuania, and the Saxon arms of the Wettin dynasty in the centre. A third putto blows a trumpet.
- The allegory: beside the title sits Polonia, crowned with laurel, wearing a fur-trimmed robe and holding a sword. A putto brings her a royal crown. Her hand rests on a papal tiara, and cannons and a plumed helmet lie at her feet. The scene probably refers to the election of 1697, when Frederick Augustus, Elector of Saxony, converted to Catholicism to win the Polish throne and became King Augustus II.
- The key and scales (lower right): a putto in hunter’s dress leads a muzzled bear past the key (“Sic notantur”) and the scales. The bear recalls the famous bear-training “academy” at Smorgon (Smarhoń) in the Grand Duchy. The scales are in Polish great and common miles.
Carel Allard (1648–1709) took over the Amsterdam business of his father, Hugo Allard, and published maps both as separate sheets and in his composite atlases of the 1690s. In 1706 he passed his copper plates to his son Abraham.
Cartographer: Carel Allard (1648-1709)
Sheet size: 62,7 x 53,6 cm
Year: c. 1697
Technique: copper engraving
Condition:
Very good condition.
This is an original antique map published circa 1697 and NOT a modern copy or reprint
On your request I will provide a Certificate of Authenticity
In stock
