Antique World Map by N. Visscher (c.1658)

Antique world map by N. Visscher titled ‘Orbis Terrarum Nova et Accuratissima Tabula’. One of the most decorative world maps, based on the grand wall map of the world published by J. Bleau, 1648. Surmounted by north and south polar projections and decoration of mythological scenes, drawn by the Dutch painter Nicolaes Berchem, depicting Zeus and Neptune in chariots, the rape of Persephone and Demeter receiving the fruits of the earth. Visscher’s world map would become the proto-type for not only a generation of large format Dutch World maps, it also inspired a series of reduced sized biblical world maps by Stoopendahl and others.

Publisher: N. Visscher

Year: c.1658