A very rare Lafreri-type map of Africa

A fine map of Africa, decorated with an ornate title cartouche and numerous ships and sea-monsters. It was published as one of a set of world and continent maps by Fausto Rughesi, all dedicated to the Duke of Mantua. It is known from correspondence between Annibale Chiepo and Rughesi that the Duke failed to pay the second half of his promised commission to Rughesi: the publisher responded by removing the arms and dedication to the duke by placing oval paper patches on the copper plate, leaving two unprinted areas. This set was only cartographic work by Rughesi, a Tuscan architect working in Rome. Even individually Rughesi's maps are extremely rare: Betz and Burden could find only two examples each of the Africa and America respectively, and neither mention the two blanked-out areas. Vincenzo Gonzaga (1562-1612), Duke of Mantua from 1587, was a patron of the arts with a particular interest in cartography. He employed Giovanni Antonio Magini as tutor to his sons and has Magini's Atlas of Italy dedicated to him.