Herman Moll
A Map of the East Indies, 1726 c
24 x 40 in
61 x 102 cm
61 x 102 cm
SEAS5407
Two sheet map covering India in the west to New Guinea in the east, including Indonesia, China, Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Moll's famous and important map of...
Two sheet map covering India in the west to New Guinea in the east, including Indonesia, China, Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Moll's famous and important map of India and the Far East is notable for several features but its most important and salient aspect is its focus on the different commodities present and available for trade.
Geographically, Moll uses his usual amalgam of current sources: the bulk of the geography is based on Guillaume de L'Isle, including the distinctive new shapes for India and the Philippines, although New Guinea is Moll's own addition. The map also bears five insets of cities which were extremely important commercial centres for Europeans; these include Surat, Bantam on Java, Fort St. George within Madras or modern Chennai and Goa, the centre of Portuguese activity on the Indian sub-continent.
However, as mentioned above, arguably the most interesting feature of this map is the careful listing of the important commodities traded and sourced from multiple parts of India and Far East; these include cinnamon and precious stones from Ceylon or modern Sri Lanka; silk, wood and gold from Vietnam; salt, pepper and exotic animals from Java; Assam between Myanmar and India abounds with gold, silver and gum. Of particular note is a text panel with a description of the diamond mines of Golconda in India which describes how the Moghul Emperor had sixty thousand people working in the mines of the area, which was possibly the most prolific diamond producing region in the world up to the 19th century.
That note is the only example on this map where Moll credits his source, Jean Baptiste Tavernier; this individual was an intrepid French merchant adventurer, a jewel merchant who travelled to Persia and India no less than six times in the 17th century. Among many other accomplishments, he purchased a 115 carat stone, the Tavernier Blue, which he brought back to Europe and then sold to Louis XIV. The King had it cut and after various further cuts, this stone became the Blue Hope Diamond now residing at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC.
The listing above is just a sample of the information portrayed on the map; the dedication to the Directors of the British East India Company and the focus of the information suggests that Moll was aiming this map at a new and burgeoning part of his market: investors in trade from India and the Far East. Evidently, it must have been successful as Henry Stevens, the eminent carto-bibliographer has tracked down six separate issues or states of this map; these differ only in the publishing imprint. This imprint on this map, with Moll's name and the addition of one of his several partners, John King, shows that it was published c. 1726, during Moll's lifetime.
Finally, a note must be made about the condition of this item. Moll's two sheet maps are notoriously difficult to find in good condition. This particular example is in very good condition with only a few minor repairs on the marginal edges of the folds. The condition is complimented by the fine original outline hand colour.
SL [SEAS5407]
Moll's famous and important map of India and the Far East is notable for several features but its most important and salient aspect is its focus on the different commodities present and available for trade.
Geographically, Moll uses his usual amalgam of current sources: the bulk of the geography is based on Guillaume de L'Isle, including the distinctive new shapes for India and the Philippines, although New Guinea is Moll's own addition. The map also bears five insets of cities which were extremely important commercial centres for Europeans; these include Surat, Bantam on Java, Fort St. George within Madras or modern Chennai and Goa, the centre of Portuguese activity on the Indian sub-continent.
However, as mentioned above, arguably the most interesting feature of this map is the careful listing of the important commodities traded and sourced from multiple parts of India and Far East; these include cinnamon and precious stones from Ceylon or modern Sri Lanka; silk, wood and gold from Vietnam; salt, pepper and exotic animals from Java; Assam between Myanmar and India abounds with gold, silver and gum. Of particular note is a text panel with a description of the diamond mines of Golconda in India which describes how the Moghul Emperor had sixty thousand people working in the mines of the area, which was possibly the most prolific diamond producing region in the world up to the 19th century.
That note is the only example on this map where Moll credits his source, Jean Baptiste Tavernier; this individual was an intrepid French merchant adventurer, a jewel merchant who travelled to Persia and India no less than six times in the 17th century. Among many other accomplishments, he purchased a 115 carat stone, the Tavernier Blue, which he brought back to Europe and then sold to Louis XIV. The King had it cut and after various further cuts, this stone became the Blue Hope Diamond now residing at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC.
The listing above is just a sample of the information portrayed on the map; the dedication to the Directors of the British East India Company and the focus of the information suggests that Moll was aiming this map at a new and burgeoning part of his market: investors in trade from India and the Far East. Evidently, it must have been successful as Henry Stevens, the eminent carto-bibliographer has tracked down six separate issues or states of this map; these differ only in the publishing imprint. This imprint on this map, with Moll's name and the addition of one of his several partners, John King, shows that it was published c. 1726, during Moll's lifetime.
Finally, a note must be made about the condition of this item. Moll's two sheet maps are notoriously difficult to find in good condition. This particular example is in very good condition with only a few minor repairs on the marginal edges of the folds. The condition is complimented by the fine original outline hand colour.
SL [SEAS5407]
