Indiae Orientalis (Philippines/China/ India/ Southeast Asia)
1598 Antwerp
Hand Colored
17” x 21” (43 cm x 53 cm)


Condition: Very Good



“This map represents a synthesis of the best readily available information on Southeast Asia and the East Indian Islands from Italian, Portuguese and Spanish sources. The emergent shape of the Philippines is apparent as well as the general configuration of the East Indian archipelago. The map ‘Indiae Orientalis Insularumque Adiacentium Typus’ by Ortelius is a ‘milestone’ map in the cartography of Southeast Asia and the East Indian Islands. It represents the synthesis of cartographic knowledge of the region for the first seventy years of the sixteenth century and, most importantly, brought that knowledge to a very wide audience through the numerous editions of the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theatre of the World). The map must be considered one of the gems of any private collection of maps of the region and, somewhat surprisingly, is still available for collectors at a reasonable price.” David F.Parry, The Cartography of the East Indian Islands. Insulae Indiae Orientalis (London: Countrywide Editions, 2005), pp.76-77.