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A late 18th century map of maritime Southeast Asia by the French geographer Jacques Nicolas Bellin (1703–1772). The title refers to the ‘Stretto della Sonda’ (Sunda Strait), the strait between the islands of Sumatra and Java.

The southern coast of Java ('Iava Maior') on this map is represented by a dotted line, indicating that the exact coastline was unknown at this time. Italian text on the reverse describes the Maluku Islands including Ambon, Banda and Ternate.

This mid-17th century Italian map is from Sir Robert Dudley's atlas ‘Dell'arcano del Mare’, the first maritime atlas to show the whole world, and the first to use the Mercator projection.

This mid-17th century map of the Indian Ocean has a colourful cartouche illustrated with paintings of Asian merchants and warriors with bows and arrows. The scale is decorated with paintings of cherubs.

This mid-17th century map of Southeast Asia is from Isaac Commelin’s book describing the voyages of the Dutch East India Company ‘Begin ende voortgangh…’. There is an inset map of the island of Botton (Buton Island, southeast of Celebes (Sulawesi)).

An early map of Southeast Asia featuring a rhumbline network, a web of lines to help plot routes and aid navigation. Where the lines meet, there is a compass rose with an arrow pointing north. The map is decorated with illustrations of sea monsters.