A sea chart of the unknown north east Asia

KEULEN, Johannes van.

Pascaarte vande Noord Oost Cust van Asia Verthoonende in sich all de Zee-custen van Tartarien, Van Japan tot Nova Zemla alles op Wassende graaden gelaght.
Amsterdam: Van Keulen, c.1680. Old colour. 520 x 590mm.

Narrow top margin due to the height of the plate.

One of the first sea charts of north-east Asia, illustrating how little was known of the region. It shows from Novaya Zemlya in northern Russia, along the coast of Siberia (with few promontories and one large island) past the mythical 'Land of Ezo' and 'Companies Land' to Japan, Korea and Zhoushan in China. There are no signs of Hokkaido, Sakhalin, Kamchatka or the Bering Strait, as the chart predates the explorations of Vitus Bering by nearly fifty years and James Cook by nearly a century.


Stock ID : 17979