DESCRIPTION: The Most Important Maps of West Africa Published in the Sixteenth Century. Fine example of Pigafetta's map of West Africa, from De Bry's Petit Voyages. Pigafetta's map of Africa based on the explorations of Duarte Lopes, a Portuguese whose voyages to the Congo Basin added to the speculation about the source of the Nile. The map depicts the portion of the Congo region visited by Duarte Lopes between 1578 and 1584, during his travels in Africa. The reader is struck by the accuracy of the coastal outline, as well as by the density of place names and geographic features filling the interior. While not all have a basis in strict fact, this was the most detailed and certainly, for the Congo, the most precise map of Africa ever published to that time. The geography is dominated by large mountain ranges and long rivers. The map includes an elaborate cartouche. DETAILS: Size: 13” x 16” inches / 32 cm x 40 cm Technique: Engraving Date: 1609 Artist: Theodor de Bry Place: Frankfurt, Germany *Includes a Certificate of Authenticity
