Antique Map of Tibet by Danville, Paris, France, 1737

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This finely engraved map is one of the detailed sheets from Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville’s Carte générale du Thibet, issued in … Read more This finely engraved map is one of the detailed sheets from Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville’s Carte générale du Thibet, issued in Paris in 1737 as part of his groundbreaking Nouvel Atlas de la Chine, de la Tartarie Chinoise et du Thibet.

The richly decorated title cartouche reads “D’une Carte Générale du Thibet qui contient en Particulier le Païs qui est au couchant de Tourfan,” identifying this map as covering the territories west of Turfan in present-day Xinjiang, Central Asia. The engraving documents a vast and remote region bordering Chinese Tartary and Tibet. Mountain ranges are shown in stylized relief, interspersed with rivers and settlements such as Casomo, Erminkaphtan, Tchachan, Harloupe Pira, and Tourfan itself. The detail reflects the Jesuit missionary surveys undertaken at the request of the Kangxi Emperor, which formed the empirical basis for D’Anville’s work. Unlike earlier maps of Asia that relied heavily on conjecture, D’Anville’s atlas was revolutionary in its accuracy and reliance on reliable data. The map is further embellished with a brilliantly hand-colored rococo cartouche, decorated with martial and ornamental motifs including a plumed helmet, quiver of arrows, and elaborate foliage, all typical of the elegant French engraving style of the early 18th century. A scale bar is enclosed in its own decorative frame, with measures in Stades Chinois and Lignes Françoises, underscoring the map’s bridging of European and Chinese geographic traditions. As part of the atlas, this sheet contributed to Europe’s most authoritative depiction of Tibet and Central Asia in the 18th century. Today, it remains an important artifact of Enlightenment cartography, combining geographical precision with artistic refinement.

Condition report: Good condition with a crisp impression and vivid original hand-coloring of the cartouches. Minor age toning and faint handling marks in margins.Wide margins preserved.
Technique: Engraving with hand-coloring Maker: Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville, Paris, 1737 See less