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This map is illustrated with drawings of Asian people wearing traditional clothing, including representatives of Sumatra, Java and the Maluku Islands. There are also drawings of important ports such as Bantam (Banten) at the western end of Java.

A map of Asia decorated with illustrations of sea monsters, strange creatures and ships. There is Latin text on the back of the map describing Asia.

German text on the reverse of this map describes the populations, crops, trade etc. of Sumatra, Borneo, Philippines, and Banda Islands. There are drawings of sailing ships, and the map is dedicated to the Dutch merchant Christophoro Thisio.

This mid-17th century map of Southeast Asia is from Isaac Commelin’s book describing the voyages of the Dutch East India Company ‘Begin ende voortgangh…’. There is an inset map of the island of Botton (Buton Island, southeast of Celebes (Sulawesi)).

Four long rivers flow south through mainland Southeast Asia on this map: the ‘Menan’, ‘Manthabam’ and ‘Cosmin’ originate at a mythical lake (‘Chiamai Lac’) in southern China, while the ‘Mecon’ (Mekong) flows from the hills of Cochinchina (Vietnam).

French text on the right of this map notes that the ‘Molucques’—an important region for the spice trade—were near the island of Gilolo (modern Halmahera) and names them as Ternate, Tindor (Tidore), Mutir (Moti), Machiam (Makian) and Bachian (Bacan).

This map is illustrated with drawings of Asian people wearing traditional clothing, including representatives of Sumatra, Java and the Maluku Islands. There are also drawings of important ports such as Bantam (Banten) at the western end of Java.

First published in Johann Ludwig Gottfried's ‘Newe Archontologia Cosmica’ in 1638, this map was based on a 1634 map by Willem Janszoon Blaeu. The cartouche features drawings of two men in ‘eastern’ clothing, holding septres, a sword and a shield.

As was common in this era, this map mistakenly shows the bottom of Peninsula Malaya as a separate island. The map also features illustrations of ships and a sea monster. Text on the reverse describes the people, crops, geography of the region.

This map is illustrated with drawings of Asian people wearing traditional clothing, including representatives of Sumatra, Java and the Maluku Islands. There are also drawings of important ports such as Bantam (Banten) at the western end of Java.

Early Latin map of Asia, with some inaccuracies: only a small part of Java (labelled ‘Iava Major’) is shown, the shape of Celebes (Sulawesi) is much simplified, and New Guinea is enlarged and distorted.

This 17th century map features a number of mythical lakes once thought to exist in southern China. One of these lakes (‘Chiamai Lac’) feeds three rivers—labelled ‘Menan’, ‘Manthabam’ and ‘Cosmin’—which flow south through mainland Southeast Asia.