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From Giovanni Giacomo de Rossi’s ‘Mercurio Geografico’, this 17th century map of Asia represents mountains, jungles and cities pictorially, with hand-coloured regional borders. The map’s cartouche is decorated with clothing and weaponry.

Based on the work of 2nd century geographer Ptolemy, this map has Latin inscriptions, including mentions of a mythical race of cannibals (‘Anthropophagi’) and hippopotamuses. The Malay Peninsula is labelled ‘Aurea Chersonesus [Golden Chersonese]’.