THE CATALAN ATLAS - Browsing Facsimile Editions (4K / UHD)

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A true milestone of cartography was created in 1375 by Abraham Cresques, a Jewish master mapmaker and builder of clocks, compasses, and other nautical instruments from Palma, Mallorca. Working at the behest of Prince John, the future King of Aragon, Cresques and his son Jehuda set about creating a set of nautical charts that would surpass all contemporaries and be presented as a royal gift to John’s cousin, who would become King Charles IV of France. The work consists of six vellum folios, which were richly painted and illuminated with gold and silver. Its first two leaves contain illustrated Catalan texts concerning cosmography, astronomy, and astrology emphasizing the spherical nature of the Earth. The four remaining leaves comprise the map itself, which is surprisingly accurate and contains the first ornate compass rose drawn on a map. Cresques also incorporated information from the travelogues of Marco Polo and Sir John Mandeville. To protect the work, it was mounted on five wooden panels tied end to end in a leather binding created by Simon Vostre ca. 1515.

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