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1751 D'Anville Wall Map of Persia, Arabia, and India
ArabiaPersiaIndia-anville-1751$1,000.00
Title
Premiere Partie de la Carte d'Asie contenant La Turquie, L'Arabie, La Perse, L'Inde en deca du Gange et de la Tartarie ce qui est limitrophe de la Perse et de l'Inde.
1751 (dated) 30 x 32 in (76.2 x 81.28 cm) 1 : 7150000
1751 (dated) 30 x 32 in (76.2 x 81.28 cm) 1 : 7150000
Description
A monumental and highly detailed 1751 map of India, Persia, and Arabia by the French cartographer Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville. Centered on Persia, this map covers from Istanbul to eastern India and Tibet, and from the Black Sea to the Maldives. It offers excellent coverage of the central Asian portions of the Silk Route naming the centers of Samarkand, Bukhara, Lop Nor, and others. At the bottom center there is a large decorative title cartouche including stylized Christian, Muslim Zoroastrian, and Buddhist elements.
As this map was being prepared, the eastern portions including Turkey, Arabia, and most of the modern day Middle east, were under the waning hegemony of the Ottoman empire. In Arabia, the first 'Saudi State' had already been established in 1744 and, though owing nominal allegiance to Istanbul, dominated much of the central Arabian Peninsula. The presumably more valuable costal lands and river valleys of Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) remained under direct Ottoman suzerainty.
Persia at this time was itself experiencing the waning years of the short lived Zand Dyansty who ruled from the capital city of Isfahan - identified here. Within 50 years of this maps issue, in 1794, Aga Muhammad Khan would overthrow Loft Ali Khan, last Shah of the Zand Dynasty, and relocate the capital to the new city of Terhan. The subsequent era, the Qajar Dynasty, witnessed numerous military conflicts with the rising powers of Imperial Russia and the loss of much of Persia's territory.
India meanwhile was quickly falling under the control of the British East India Company who, from a few coastal outposts, were rapidly asserting their authority over most of the subcontinent, leaving only the Sultanate of Mysore, under Tipu Sultan, independent. In 1784, Tipu Sultan negotiated the Treaty of Mangalore following the Second Anglo-Mysore War. Though it only gave Tipu Sultan a short reprieve, the treaty was considered a victory for the people of Mysore. Nonetheless, the Third and Fourth Anglo-Mysore Wars were soon to follow and by 1799 Tipu Sultan had been defeated and all of India fell under the at least nominal control of the British east India Company.
D'Anville prepared this map in 1751. Like most D'Anville maps it was an independent issue and included in various made-to-order atlases on a case-by-case basis. It was engraved for D'Anville by Guillaume Delahaye.
As this map was being prepared, the eastern portions including Turkey, Arabia, and most of the modern day Middle east, were under the waning hegemony of the Ottoman empire. In Arabia, the first 'Saudi State' had already been established in 1744 and, though owing nominal allegiance to Istanbul, dominated much of the central Arabian Peninsula. The presumably more valuable costal lands and river valleys of Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) remained under direct Ottoman suzerainty.
Persia at this time was itself experiencing the waning years of the short lived Zand Dyansty who ruled from the capital city of Isfahan - identified here. Within 50 years of this maps issue, in 1794, Aga Muhammad Khan would overthrow Loft Ali Khan, last Shah of the Zand Dynasty, and relocate the capital to the new city of Terhan. The subsequent era, the Qajar Dynasty, witnessed numerous military conflicts with the rising powers of Imperial Russia and the loss of much of Persia's territory.
India meanwhile was quickly falling under the control of the British East India Company who, from a few coastal outposts, were rapidly asserting their authority over most of the subcontinent, leaving only the Sultanate of Mysore, under Tipu Sultan, independent. In 1784, Tipu Sultan negotiated the Treaty of Mangalore following the Second Anglo-Mysore War. Though it only gave Tipu Sultan a short reprieve, the treaty was considered a victory for the people of Mysore. Nonetheless, the Third and Fourth Anglo-Mysore Wars were soon to follow and by 1799 Tipu Sultan had been defeated and all of India fell under the at least nominal control of the British east India Company.
D'Anville prepared this map in 1751. Like most D'Anville maps it was an independent issue and included in various made-to-order atlases on a case-by-case basis. It was engraved for D'Anville by Guillaume Delahaye.
CartographerS
Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville (1697 - 1782) was perhaps the most important and prolific cartographer of the 18th century. D'Anville's passion for cartography manifested during his school years when he amused himself by composing maps for Latin texts. There is a preserved manuscript dating to 1712, Graecia Vetus, which may be his earliest surviving map - he was only 15 when he drew it. He would retain an interest in the cartography of antiquity throughout his long career and published numerous atlases to focusing on the ancient world. At twenty-two D'Anville, sponsored by the Duke of Orleans, was appointed Geographer to the King of France. As both a cartographer and a geographer, he instituted a reform in the general practice of cartography. Unlike most period cartographers, D'Anville did not rely exclusively on earlier maps to inform his work, rather he based his maps on intense study and research. His maps were thus the most accurate and comprehensive of his period - truly the first modern maps. Thomas Basset and Philip Porter write: "It was because of D'Anville's resolve to depict only those features which could be proven to be true that his maps are often said to represent a scientific reformation in cartography." (The Journal of African History, Vol. 32, No. 3 (1991), pp. 367-413). In 1754, when D'Anville turned 57 and had reached the height of his career, he was elected to the Academie des Inscriptions. Later, at 76, following the death of Philippe Buache, D'Anville was appointed to both of the coveted positions Buache held: Premier Geographe du Roi, and Adjoint-Geographer of the Academie des Sciences. During his long career D'Anville published some 211 maps as well as 78 treatises on geography. D'Anville's vast reference library, consisting of over 9000 volumes, was acquired by the French government in 1779 and became the basis of the Depot Geographique - though D'Anville retained physical possession his death in 1782. Remarkably almost all of D'Anville's maps were produced by his own hand. His published maps, most of which were engraved by Guillaume de la Haye, are known to be near exact reproductions of D'Anville' manuscripts. The borders as well as the decorative cartouche work present on many of his maps were produced by his brother Hubert-Francois Bourguignon Gravelot. The work of D'Anville thus marked a transitional point in the history of cartography and opened the way to the maps of English cartographers Cary, Thomson and Pinkerton in the early 19th century. More by this mapmaker...
Guillaume-Nicolas Delahaye (1725 - February 24, 1802) was the most prolific member of the Delahaye (De-La-Haye) family of engravers active in Paris throughout the 18th century. Given that the name, Delahaye literally translates to 'of the Hague' it can be assume they were French Huguenots who were forced to flee the Netherlands under threat of religious persecution. Born in Paris, he was the son of patriarch Jean-Baptiste Delahaye and brother to Jean-Baptistie-Henri Delahaye. It is said that his godfather, who held him at the baptismal font, was none other than the famous french cartographer Guillaume de L'Isle. The Delahaye family engraved for many of the great cartographers of 18th century Paris, including Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville, Didier Robert de Vaugondy, Jean-Baptiste de Mannevillette, and Jean-Nicolas Buache, among others. He was awarded the public office Premier Graveur du Roi and worked on a series of maps illustrating the king's hunts around Versailles. Guillaume also worked with foreign cartographers such as Tomas Lopez of Madrid. Possibly Delahaye's most significant map is A Map of the Country between Albemarle Sound and Lake Erie prepared for the memories of Thomas Jefferson. He married in 1758. In total he engraved some 1200 maps. Delahaye died in Charenton. In 1792, his daughter, Antoinette Marie Delahaye (1773-1857), married the geographer Jean-Denis Barbie du Bocage. Learn More...
Condition
Very good. Some wear along original folds. Slight wear at center - see image. Platemark visible. Blank on verso. Two sheets joined.
References
Rumsey 2603.005. Phillips (Atlases) 571, 572, 599. Alai, C., General Maps of Perisa 1477-1925, E 126, PL 84.