1691 Coronelli Map of Africa

This is Vincenzo Maria Coronelli's magnificent 1691 two-sheet map of Africa: it is among the most distinctive maps ever printed of the continent, and one boldly presenting the groundbreaking revision of the mapping of the River Nile. The size of the map, as well as Coronelli's distinctive and elegant style, establish this map among the most sought-after antique maps of Africa. It is rich in historical detail, noting dates on which different regions were first reached by European explorers.

Correcting the Course of the Nile (in increments)

Most maps of Africa produced in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries showed the sources of the River Nile originating in two massive lakes - Zaire and Zaflan - well south of the Equator, and themselves fed by streams from the Mons Lunae. This formulation was inherited by European geographers from the ancient geographical authority, Claudius Ptolemy: hence the most enduring geographical feature of the African continent was derived from second century geographical knowledge. By far the most dramatic geographical change on Coronelli's map is the near excision of the lakes (only the southern portion of Lake Zaire is shown) and the eradication of the upper Nile, instead depicting Lake Tsana (Tana) in Abyssinia as the source of the great river. This represented a partial correction, Lake Tsana being the source of the Blue Nile. The White Nile (not retained on Coronelli's map) would remain mysterious until its true source was discovered by Waldecker in 1937.

Coronelli's map is not the first to dispense with the long-cherished Ptolemaic Nile: the extremely rare four-sheet Du Val of 1678 has that honor; Coronelli's name is first associated with the new geographical model in the 1689 Coronelli-Nolin map of Africa, also separately-issued and extremely rare. Although these two maps pre-date the map appearing in Coronelli's 1691 Atlante Veneto, neither were as widely disseminated or seen as this one and consequently neither had as much impact.

The Lily, Gilded

Coronelli knew well the importance of this geographical change, and on this map he emphasized it with a dramatic cartouche. Coronelli's descriptive text is shown on a grand tapestry, suspended on the right by a putto and on the left hanging from the pinnacle of a Great Pyramid. A geographer - identified as such by the globe he uses as a footstool - points out the names of the scholar Hiob Ludolf and the Portuguese Jesuit Balthazar Tellez, two of the sources of the new information. A classical river god pours the river out of his jar, dousing a crocodile and threatening to inundate the geographer's maps and books. The winged, classical avatar of Fame hovers atop the scene, pointing out the new course of the Nile on the map, playing her vuvuzela.

An Astonishing Menagerie

In addition to the crocodile in the descriptive cartouche, the title/dedicatory cartouche features lions, a camel, an ostrich... and another crocodile. The body of the map, however, is home to dozens of animals and monsters - some recognizable, some less familiar (apparently The Gambia River was thought to be home to giant hedgehogs, and the fabled Roc makes an appearance, carrying off a horse.)

Publication History and Census

This desirable map appears on the market from time to time. Astonishingly, we see only one separate example catalogued in OCLC at the Bibliotheque National de France. The Atlante Veneto is reasonably well represented in institutional collections.