La Table & description universelle de toute l'Afrique uoire estendue outre les limites de Ptol.

This seminal and hugely influential woodcut of Africa is the earliest, readily available, map of the continent.
This map is brimming with curious features including the one-eyed giant in Nigeria, representing the mythical tribe of the 'Monoculi'. Several kingdoms are also noted, including that of the legendary Prester John, Nubia, the land of gold, and 'Mero', where one would find the mythical tombs of the Nubian kings.



The geography, still largely based on ancient sources, is inaccurate but intriguing. The Senegal River runs across West Africa, much as the Niger does today, entering the ocean at what is now the Gulf of Guinea. This loop of river was not represented again in continental maps of Africa for nearly 200 years. The source of the Nile consists of two lakes to the south, fed by 'The Mountains of the Moon'.


The text in the large cartouche is a rough guide for sailors travelling around Africa from the Iberian Peninsula, specifically the Roman province of Lusitania (Portugal), to Calicut in India.


[Betz (R.L.): The Mapping of Africa 3 (Variant 13)]

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