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This mid-18th century map of Asia features a drawing of religious imagery: Asian people are seen making offerings to two figures, including the Greek god Poseidon (or the Roman god Neptune), and kneeling as cherubs descend from the sky.

This map's cartouche features an illustration of three men bowing before an enthroned ruler. A second image is of a procession where a horned four-armed humanoid creature is being carried on poles by two bearers, while musicians follow behind.

This map is from ‘Universus terrarum orbis scriptorum calamo delineatus’ by Alphonsus Lasor a Varea (pseudonym of Raffaello Savonarola (1680–1748), a monk who worked in the monastery library in Padua).

The illustration on this map highlights the wealth of the Asian trade routes, with merchants wearing colourful and elaborate robes presenting valuable treasures to a royal figure. A monkey, tortoise and camel emphasise the 'exoticism' of Asia.

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.

A map of Asia decorated with colourful illustrations including two men in ‘eastern’ clothing, the Greek goddess Athena with a coat of arms and a knight in armour, and cherubs playing with cartography tools: a globe, compass, and pair of callipers.

This mid-17th century map features three long rivers flowing south through mainland Southeast Asia. Their source is a lake named ‘Chiamai Lacus’, which was one of a number of mythical lakes once thought to exist in southern China.

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.

German text on the reverse of this map describes the populations, crops, trade etc. of Sumatra, Borneo, Philippines, and Banda Islands. There are drawings of sailing ships, and the map is dedicated to the Dutch merchant Christophoro Thisio.

First published in Johann Ludwig Gottfried's ‘Newe Archontologia Cosmica’ in 1638, this map was based on a 1634 map by Willem Janszoon Blaeu. The cartouche features drawings of two men in ‘eastern’ clothing, holding septres, a sword and a shield.

Although quite detailed for an early 17th century map of Asia, there are some inaccuracies in the representation of the islands of Southeast Asia, particularly Java (labelled 'Iaua maior'), Borneo (Burne), Sulawesi (Celebes) and the Maluku Islands.

Although quite detailed for an early 17th century map of Asia, there are some inaccuracies in the representation of the islands of Southeast Asia, particularly Java (labelled 'Iaua maior'), Borneo (Burne), Sulawesi (Celebes) and the Maluku Islands.