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This map of Asia is dedicated to Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, and features a drawing of his coat of arms. He had been in line to succeed to the English throne, but died at the age of 11 in 1700, the year before this map was produced.

The outline of the island of New Guinea is very vague on this early 17th century map of Southeast Asia. The cartouche is decorated with two figures of Asian warriors: one holds a spear, the other a sword. There are also drawings of mermaids.

The outline of the island of New Guinea is very vague on this early 17th century map of Southeast Asia. The cartouche is decorated with two figures of Asian warriors: one holds a spear, the other a sword. There are also drawings of mermaids.

From Giovanni Giacomo de Rossi’s ‘Mercurio Geografico’, this 17th century map of Asia represents mountains, jungles and cities pictorially, with hand-coloured regional borders. The map’s cartouche is decorated with clothing and weaponry.

This map by Athanasius Kircher shows the ‘hydrophylacium’ of Asia, a mythical subterranean ocean that Kircher thought fed rivers and caused tides. Illustrations of Neptune, the god of the sea, and cherubs playing in water continue the aquatic theme.

These two mid-17th century maps cover mainland Southeast Asia, divided into kingdoms by coloured borders. Settlements and rivers are named, with the larger settlements marked pictorially with a red building symbol.

This map is illustrated with drawings of Asian people wearing traditional clothing, including representatives of Sumatra, Java and the Maluku Islands. There are also drawings of important ports such as Bantam (Banten) at the western end of Java.

A map of Asia decorated with illustrations of sea monsters, strange creatures and ships. There is Latin text on the back of the map describing Asia.

This map is illustrated with drawings of Asian people wearing traditional clothing, including representatives of Sumatra, Java and the Maluku Islands. There are also drawings of important ports such as Bantam (Banten) at the western end of Java.

As was common in this era, this map mistakenly shows the bottom of Peninsula Malaya as a separate island. The map also features illustrations of ships and a sea monster. Text on the reverse describes the people, crops, geography of the region.

This map is illustrated with drawings of Asian people wearing traditional clothing, including representatives of Sumatra, Java and the Maluku Islands. There are also drawings of important ports such as Bantam (Banten) at the western end of Java.

Early Latin map of Asia, with some inaccuracies: only a small part of Java (labelled ‘Iava Major’) is shown, the shape of Celebes (Sulawesi) is much simplified, and New Guinea is enlarged and distorted.