A rare 16th century map of the Middle East

A very fine example of this rare 16th century map of south west Asia, covering mainly Arabia, southern Persia, and the west coast of India & Maldives, and including with Egypt & the Nile. Although the map was engraved c.1566-1570, publication of De Jode's atlas, the 'Speculum Orbis Terrarum', was held back until 1578 by Ortelius's patent. Some of the most famous names in cartography of this period appear on this map: De Jode was the great rival of Ortelius, with whom he had a long-running feud; Gastaldi, De Jode's source, is best known for his maps in 'Lafreri-type' atlases; and Lucas & Jan van Doeticum, the engravers, are renowned for the flair of their work for Waghenaer, Linschoten and Ortelius. Neither edition of the 'Speculum' atlas sold well, as Ortelius's 'Theatrum' already dominated the market. This second edition was to be the last: after 1600 the plates were bought by Jan Baptiste Vrients, who also acquired the Ortelius rights, to ensure De Jode's maps were never printed again. Thus all editions of the De Jode maps are scarce.