A 16th century map of the Far East in fine original colour

An early map of the Far East, with India, the Malay Peninsula (with 'Cingatola'), the Philippines & Moluccas, engraved c.1566, this example from the 1593 edition of De Jode's 'Speculum Orbis Terrae', published two years after his death by his widow and son. This was to be the last edition: after the death of Cornelis De Jode in 1600 the plates were bought by Vrients, then the owner of the Ortelius plates, merely to stop their re-issue. 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 the appearance of his maps in the 'Lafreri-type' atlases; and Lucas & Jan van Doeticum, the engravers, are renowned for the flair of their work for Waghenaer, Linschoten and Ortelius.