(Turkey) – Turcicu Imperium In Asia – Pierre Du Val – 1694

Paris, 1694.

Original copper engraving.

A finely engraved late seventeenth-century map of the Ottoman Empire in Asia by the important French cartographer Pierre Du Val, depicting a vast geographical area extending from the eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor across Mesopotamia and Persia towards the Caspian Sea and Arabia. Despite its compact scale, the map displays a remarkable density of geographical information, with cities, rivers, mountain ranges and regional divisions carefully engraved in the elegant style associated with French cartography of the period.

The map includes the Black Sea (Mare Nigrum), the eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus, the Levant, Arabia Petraea, Persia and parts of the Caucasus, with Constantinople prominently marked at the western edge. Mountain ranges are shown pictorially, coastlines are crisply delineated and classical Latinised place names throughout reflect the scholarly cartographic traditions of the seventeenth century. The decorative title cartouche at lower centre balances the composition and adds to the visual appeal of the engraving.

Pierre Du Val (1619–1683), nephew and pupil of Nicolas Sanson, was among the most respected French geographers of the seventeenth century and served as Géographe Ordinaire du Roi to Louis XIV. His maps are noted for their clarity, restrained ornament and strong geographical accuracy for the period. This example originates from a late seventeenth-century atlas edition and survives in uncoloured state, as issued.

An attractive and historically interesting miniature map, appealing both to collectors of early Ottoman material and to those interested in seventeenth-century French cartography.

Sheet size: 14.6 x 12.9 cm.

Condition: Minor age marks and central fold line as expected, otherwise in good condition overall. A clean and well-preserved impression.

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