Africae Accurata Tabula ex offficina Nic. Visscher.

Africae Accurata Tabula ex Officina Nic. Visscher is one of the finest Dutch maps of Africa produced during the latter half of the c.17th.

Hand coloured engraving published in Amsterdam by the distinguished cartographer and publisher Nicolaes Visscher I, the map first appeared about 1680 and remained in use through subsequent editions issued by his son and later successors. It exemplifies the high standards of Dutch commercial cartography during the Golden Age, combining the latest geographical knowledge with refined engraving and restrained decorative embellishment.

The map extends from the Mediterranean to the Cape of Good Hope and includes Madagascar and adjoining islands. It reflects the expanding geographical understanding of the African coastline derived from Portuguese and Dutch maritime exploration, while the interior retains many of the traditional features characteristic of seventeenth-century cartography. Mountain ranges, major river systems, regional kingdoms and trading centres are carefully delineated, together with surviving geographical misconceptions, including speculative river courses and the uncertain sources of the Nile. Such features illustrate the balance between empirical observation and inherited classical geography that characterised European mapping of Africa during this period.

Decorative elements are confined principally to an elaborate title cartouche and maritime ornament, allowing the geographical content to remain the principal focus. This restrained style distinguishes Visscher’s work from the more elaborate productions of several of his contemporaries while maintaining the high artistic standards for which Amsterdam mapmaking was renowned.

Maps from the Visscher workshop were widely respected for their accuracy, craftsmanship and commercial success. Africae Accurata Tabula remained an influential representation of the continent for many decades and was incorporated into numerous composite atlases assembled by the Visscher family.

From: Visscher, N. Atlas Contractus Orbis Terrarum Praecipuas ac Novissimas Complectens Tabulas. Amsterdam