“Map of Asia” from The Catalan Atlas attributed to Cresques AbrahamLeaves

• Attributed to Cresques Abraham Leaves, colors on vellum　
• 65 x 50 cm

The Catalan Atlas is an important 14th-century map from the Majorcan cartographic school most probably produced in 1375 and attributed to Cresques Abraham. Of the six vellum leaves, four comprise the actual world map and are divided into two parts. Unlike many other maps, the Catalan Atlas is meant to be read with north at the bottom, with the Far East at the right.

The first two leaves seen here from the oriental portion of the Catalan Atlas include numerous references to the travel literature of the time, notably Marco Polo’s Book of Marvels and the Travels and Voyage of Sir John Mandeville. For example, in the land of “Catayo” (China), the map shows the city of ‘Chambaleth’ (Beijing) where the Great Khan resides.

Despite the approximate cartographical descriptions, many Indian and Chinese cities can still be identified. The explanatory texts report customs described by Marco Polo and catalogue local economic resources, both real and imagined. Here, to the east of the well-defined Mediterranean world, lies immense regions of clear economic importance which had yet to be fully unexplored. This world of spices, silks, and riches described by Marco Polo is the one that Christopher Columbus attempted to reach via a western route 117 years later.

(Note: The above is adapted from the description of this work on the website of the Bibliotheque nationale de France. For further explanations and images, please first visit their web page for the “Map of Asia” at
http://www.bnf.fr/enlum-bin/afiche.exe?a8_0000b.htm&/enluminures/texte/atx2_07.htm&The+Catalan+Atlas

From this page, you may navigate for an enlargement of the map and for further information at:
L’Art dulivre arabe
http://expositions.bnf.fr/livrarab/index.htm
Splendeurs persanes
http://expositions.bnf.fr/splendeurs/