1687 Haffner / Johannes Vingboons View of Ayutthaya, Siam

First Dutch View of the Siamese Capital.

This is a beautifully engraved 1687 Johann Christoph Haffner view and map of Ayutthaya, then the capital of Siam (Thailand). The view, composed c. 1665 by Johannes Vingboons, captures the now-ruined city at the height of its golden age as the seat of the Ayutthaya Kingdom (1351 - 1767). Europeans were banned from Siam in 1688, so few first-hand images were available for a public hungry for them. The map illustrates the city at its peak when it was one of the world's largest and wealthiest.

A Closer Look

The engraving presents Ayutthaya in forced perspective as a bird's-eye view, oriented to the north, with Ayutthaya situated on an island on the Menam (Chao Phraya) River. The city is bisected by canals, connecting to subsidiary canals in the eastern and southern districts. Impressive defensive walls surround it, reflecting ongoing wars with neighboring Burma. The river is teeming with ships - both small boats and larger river galleys. In the foreground, the shore opposite the city is busy with travelers and merchants bringing cargo to cross the river. Mountains rise in the background. The city itself is peppered with temples, monasteries, palaces, and other buildings. At the bottom, a numerical legend identifies the Chao Phraya, the Jesuit church, the Royal Palace, the city's market square, and its largest temples.

The Source

Haffner's engraving appears to have been based the 1676 De Stadt Iudia, engraved by Johannes Kip for inclusion in the Meurs edition of Jan Janszoon Struys' successful travelogue, but that view was not the result of Struys' travels: it was itself copied from a c. 1665 watercolor produced by Johannes Vingboons, whose work for the Blaeu firm allowed him access to first-hand reports from mariners and navigators of the Dutch East India and West India companies. As with many of the images he produced, his two watercolors of Ayutthaya were the first European representations of the city. (Vingboons' other watercolor, a plan rather than a view, is the source for the 1726 Valentijn plan of the city).

Ayutthaya: Capital of Siam

In the 17th century, Ayutthaya was the capital of the Kingdom of Siam and a hub of trade, diplomacy, and culture. By this time, the city had established itself as one of the largest, wealthiest, and most cosmopolitan in the world, attracting merchants and diplomats from across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Ayutthaya's prosperity was not to last. In 1767, after years of conflict with neighboring Burma, the Burmese forces invaded and destroyed Ayutthaya, marking the end of the Ayutthaya Period. The city was left in ruins, its palaces and temples burned and looted, and its people displaced. This catastrophic event led to a period of instability until King Taksin established a new Siamese capital in Bangkok later that same century. Ayutthaya's fall marked a significant shift in the history of Siam, though today the city's evocative ruins stand as a reminder of its lost grandeur.

Publication History and Census

This view was engraved by Johann Christoph Haffner for inclusion in Johann Christoph Wagner's Interiora Orientis detecta... published in Augsburg by Jakob Koppmayer. We see the book's single edition well-represented in institutional collections, but find only one example of Haffner's engraving listed in OCLC. It is in the collections of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek.

Cartographers

Johann Christoph Haffner (1668 - 1754) was a German printer and etcher active in Augsburg. His family were prominent engravers in that city; both Melchior Hafner I (dates not known) and Melchior Hafner II (1660 - 1704) were successful in the trade; the elder was probably Johann's father.   Further Details...

Johannes Vingboons (1616/1617 - July 20, 1670) was a Dutch cartographer and watercolorist. He was born to a family of artists. His father, David Vinckboons (1576 - 1632), was a painter; his brothers were architects. Following David's death, his sons shifted the family's work to publishing and printing, specializing in maps and globes. Starting in 1640, Johannes would work as a mapmaker and colorist for the Blaeu firm. His specialty would become the production of watercolor views based on the reports and sketches of mariners in the service of the Dutch East India and West India companies. His images - charts, maps, and views - resulted from the careful synthesis of firsthand reports, and were for many of these areas the earliest images. The watercolors themselves were sought-after collectors' items even during his lifetime (a series of 130 was bought in 1564 by the Queen of Sweden). His images would prove influential and were widely copied both during his lifetime and long after.   Further Details...

Johann Christoph Wagner (1640 – c. 1701) was a German theologian, mathematician, and writer active in the 17th century. Wagner was born in Nuremberg where his father, Christoph Wagner, was a cantor at St. Egidien. Wagner studied in Altdorf where he defended works on astrological medicine and the occult properties of abbreviations. Unable to find work in Nuremberg he took to published calendars for astrological work. Around 1680 he relocated to Augsburg where he published, among other things, his well-known descriptions of the orient.   Further Details...

Source

Wagners, Johann Christoph Interiora Orientis detecta Oder Grundrichtige und eigentliche Beschreibung aller heut zu Tag bekandten grossen und herrlichen Reiche des Orients (Augsburg: Koppmayer) 1687.    

Condition

Very good. Mended centerfold split with no loss.

References

OCLC 225409285.