Indiae Orientalis et Insularum Adiacentium Antigua et Nova Descriptio [An Old and New Description of the East Indies and the Adjacent Islands]

Description

hand-coloured copper engraving. RARE.

An attractive map of Southeast Asia including the Philippine and Indonesian archipelagos from “Introductio in omnem geographiam veterem aeque ac novam”, Tab[ula] 38 [plate 38], 2nd Buno edition. The volume’s original text was written by the celebrated Danzig[now Gdansk]-born German geographer Philippus [Philipp] Cluverius [Clüver; Cluvier; Klüver] (1580–1623). Settled in Leiden/Netherlands, Clüver specialised in ancient geography, with his works published posthumously by Elzevier.

This edition was heavily supplemented by the German Court copper engraver, cartographer, and publisher Conrad Buno (c. 1613–1671) — who worked prominently under the patronage of “Duke Augustus the Younger at the court of Wolfenbüttel — and his brother, the scholar Johann Buno. Greatly influenced by Willem Blaeu’s 1635 model, this map bridges contemporary knowledge and older cartographic traditions — notably depicting the mythical Lake of Chiang Mai in mainland Southeast Asia. Decorative elements include an elaborate lower-left cartouche featuring an elephant, a native inhabitant, and a tiger, reflecting European fascination with regional fauna and culture.