Maps
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Ancient maps Incunabula Textiles
Chronology : 1460-1479 1989
See also : Ancient maps Incunabula Textiles
Chronology : 1460-1479 1989
1477 Ptolemy's Cosmographia
2006 SOLD for £ 2.14M by Sotheby's
In Greco-Roman antiquity, knowledge was transmitted and enriched by compilers. Chronologically, Ptolemy appears between Pliny the Younger and Galen, in the 2nd century CE. His celestial compilation totaled 1,022 stars grouped into 48 constellations. His geography listed the positions of 8,000 localities. His proposed method for drawing maps was a new algorithm for projecting the sphere onto a flat surface, developed from Euclid.
This monumental work is ignored in the Christian world and rediscovered by astronomers in Baghdad at the beginning of the 9th century. Around 1300 CE the Byzantine scholar Planudes finds a Greek version of the Geography of Ptolemy, which then takes the name of Cosmographia, and reconstructs the maps. A Latin translation of the text in 1406 by Jacobus Angelus is used for the first printed editions.
The 26 maps based on Ptolemy's informations are engraved on copper plates prepared by Taddeo Crivelli. They are published with the text of Jacobus Angelus in Bologna in 1477. Each map occupies a double page 42 x 56 cm overall, which is the prestigious Royal folio format used in particular by Gutenberg in his Bible.
On October 10, 2006, Sotheby's sold a complete copy of the Bologna Cosmographia with in period hand-coloring and binding for £ 2.14M, lot 394. It most certainly belonged to the bibliophile Hieronymus Münzer, who started his collection of printed books in 1476 and was also a keen traveler. This undocumented provenance is made plausible by its later belonging to the humanist Pirckheimer from whom a letter containing a posthumous praise of Münzer is known.
The next step is the integration of the explorers' discoveries. From 1477 Nicolaus Germanus creates a terrestrial and a celestial globe. In 1482 the Ulm edition of Ptolemy's Cosmographia is the first modern atlas, integrating the maps of Nicolaus.
This monumental work is ignored in the Christian world and rediscovered by astronomers in Baghdad at the beginning of the 9th century. Around 1300 CE the Byzantine scholar Planudes finds a Greek version of the Geography of Ptolemy, which then takes the name of Cosmographia, and reconstructs the maps. A Latin translation of the text in 1406 by Jacobus Angelus is used for the first printed editions.
The 26 maps based on Ptolemy's informations are engraved on copper plates prepared by Taddeo Crivelli. They are published with the text of Jacobus Angelus in Bologna in 1477. Each map occupies a double page 42 x 56 cm overall, which is the prestigious Royal folio format used in particular by Gutenberg in his Bible.
On October 10, 2006, Sotheby's sold a complete copy of the Bologna Cosmographia with in period hand-coloring and binding for £ 2.14M, lot 394. It most certainly belonged to the bibliophile Hieronymus Münzer, who started his collection of printed books in 1476 and was also a keen traveler. This undocumented provenance is made plausible by its later belonging to the humanist Pirckheimer from whom a letter containing a posthumous praise of Münzer is known.
The next step is the integration of the explorers' discoveries. From 1477 Nicolaus Germanus creates a terrestrial and a celestial globe. In 1482 the Ulm edition of Ptolemy's Cosmographia is the first modern atlas, integrating the maps of Nicolaus.
1546 The Agnese Atlas
2012 SOLD for $ 2.77M by Christie's
The cartographer Battista Agnese produces in Venice handwritten maps to constitute composite atlases, the contents of which vary for different clients.
Although his nautical maps fully use the classic portolan representation, his customers seem to have mostly been sovereign princes and great prelates. For example, he assembled circa 1542 on commission from the Emperor Charles V an atlas for the use of Prince Philip, later Philip II.
Agnese takes great care to integrate the most recent discoveries. When Ulloa observed in 1540 that Baja California was a peninsula and not an island, Agnese immediately applied this information while also including the new place names defined by the explorer. The maps are illuminated with full-cheeked figures of the winds at the four cardinal points and at four or six intermediate points.
On April 10, 2012, Christie's sold an Agnese atlas for $ 2.77M from a lower estimate of $ 800K, lot 159.
This collection, in a binding from the early 18th century, has the very rare characteristic of being considered complete. It consists of 15 bifolium vellum plates 18 x 25 cm with blank reverse, including twelve two-page maps.
The first ten maps are portolans from the three oceans (Pacific, Atlantic and Indian) and the seas, not to forget the Black Sea. The next one is a world map in oval projection which includes the parallels and meridians and the line of Magellan's circumnavigation. The last map displays the North Atlantic in globular projection.
The atlas is not dated but is dedicated to Adolf von Schaumburg during the very short period when he was administrator of the archdiocese of Cologne, in 1546. He was appointed in January 1547 archbishop elector of that city.
Although his nautical maps fully use the classic portolan representation, his customers seem to have mostly been sovereign princes and great prelates. For example, he assembled circa 1542 on commission from the Emperor Charles V an atlas for the use of Prince Philip, later Philip II.
Agnese takes great care to integrate the most recent discoveries. When Ulloa observed in 1540 that Baja California was a peninsula and not an island, Agnese immediately applied this information while also including the new place names defined by the explorer. The maps are illuminated with full-cheeked figures of the winds at the four cardinal points and at four or six intermediate points.
On April 10, 2012, Christie's sold an Agnese atlas for $ 2.77M from a lower estimate of $ 800K, lot 159.
This collection, in a binding from the early 18th century, has the very rare characteristic of being considered complete. It consists of 15 bifolium vellum plates 18 x 25 cm with blank reverse, including twelve two-page maps.
The first ten maps are portolans from the three oceans (Pacific, Atlantic and Indian) and the seas, not to forget the Black Sea. The next one is a world map in oval projection which includes the parallels and meridians and the line of Magellan's circumnavigation. The last map displays the North Atlantic in globular projection.
The atlas is not dated but is dedicated to Adolf von Schaumburg during the very short period when he was administrator of the archdiocese of Cologne, in 1546. He was appointed in January 1547 archbishop elector of that city.
Mappa by BOETTI
1
1978
2021 SOLD for £ 3.04M by Sotheby's
Artist in the abstract and lettrist styles, Alighiero Boetti wanted to express the globalization of time and space. The name of this universal minded Italian could be a pseudonym in tribute to Dante and Boethius, his two famous compatriots from ancient times. Not at all : it was his real name, sometimes used as Alighiero e Boetti.
In addition to his personal work, he managed from 1971 a fertile idea in the follow of his hippy trek in Asia. He chose then as a theme the Mappa, the map of the Earth, which he made hand woven by Afghan women, as a tribute to the endangered survivance of folk art within the modern world.
The design is fixed : they are the continents. The choice of colors of earth and sea is made by the craftsman, along with his possible selection of a text for the border. The flags of the nations, embroidered at the place of their geographic location, follow over time the political changes in a lifetime output of 150 works.
A precursor by the same artist had been in 1969 a Planisfero Politico where he decorated some blank countries of a paper world map with their national flags. The idea to use an immediately recognizable is certainly inspired from Jasper Johns.
An embroidery on canvas 179 x 220 cm executed in 1978 was sold for £ 3.04M from a lower estimate of £ 1.8M by Sotheby's on October 14, 2021, lot 10. Its vibrant colors include a rich blue sea and deep red continents centered by the dazzling hammer and sickle of the USSR.
In addition to his personal work, he managed from 1971 a fertile idea in the follow of his hippy trek in Asia. He chose then as a theme the Mappa, the map of the Earth, which he made hand woven by Afghan women, as a tribute to the endangered survivance of folk art within the modern world.
The design is fixed : they are the continents. The choice of colors of earth and sea is made by the craftsman, along with his possible selection of a text for the border. The flags of the nations, embroidered at the place of their geographic location, follow over time the political changes in a lifetime output of 150 works.
A precursor by the same artist had been in 1969 a Planisfero Politico where he decorated some blank countries of a paper world map with their national flags. The idea to use an immediately recognizable is certainly inspired from Jasper Johns.
An embroidery on canvas 179 x 220 cm executed in 1978 was sold for £ 3.04M from a lower estimate of £ 1.8M by Sotheby's on October 14, 2021, lot 10. Its vibrant colors include a rich blue sea and deep red continents centered by the dazzling hammer and sickle of the USSR.
2
1979 5503
2023 SOLD for £ 1.87M by Sotheby's
The Mappa with the Boetti archive number 5503 is a silky embroidery on fabric executed in the follow of the 1978 example narrated above, with the same balance of colors but in a smaller size, 95 x 133 cm. It is located in Afghanistan by the inscription on the border and dated 1979. Afghanistan was invaded by the Soviet Union in December of that year.
It was sold for £ 1.87M by Sotheby's on June 27, 2023, lot 138.
It was sold for £ 1.87M by Sotheby's on June 27, 2023, lot 138.
3
1979
2024 SOLD for $ 2.35M by Christie's
An embroidery with some silk threads on linen 120 x 165 cm was made in 1979. It is located in Kabul and signed Alighiero e Boetti. The blue of the oceans is resulting from a patchwork of colors.
It was sold for $ 2.35M by Christie's on May 16, 2024, lot 42 B (link to be provided later).
It was sold for $ 2.35M by Christie's on May 16, 2024, lot 42 B (link to be provided later).
4
1980
2022 SOLD for € 5.6M by Christie's
December 1979 was a key date in Boetti's art business, for political reasons. The invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR deprived him from access to the Kabul workshops where his Mappe were woven.
A Mappa 130 x 230 cm begun before that event and finished in 1980 was sold for € 5.6M from a lower estimate of € 2M by Christie's on October 20, 2022, lot 7. It is dated 1358 (AH).
To reflect these political turmoil, the Afghan flag is superseded by the inscription in farsi of the defeated Khalq party, demonstrating an increased autonomy of the weavers and a renewed interpretation of the role of the artist in his own art. It certainly pleased the former hippy keen to promote the multi-cultural dimension of his Mappe.
Also for political reasons, the Namibian flag has been removed. The ocean is a deep rose pink, possibly to avoid an extensive use of blue threads then under shortage in Kabul.
A 1984 Mappa signed by Alighiero Boetti, embroidery on canvas 113 x 170 cm on a silver color background, was sold for $ 1.84M by Sotheby's on November 18, 2021, lot 124. That date marks a restart after the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR.
Made in the same year and size, a Mappa woven in Kabul was sold for £ 880K by Sotheby's on June 28, 2010.
In 1984 the artist also began to work with weavers displaced to Peshawar, Pakistan, by the political events.
A Mappa 130 x 230 cm begun before that event and finished in 1980 was sold for € 5.6M from a lower estimate of € 2M by Christie's on October 20, 2022, lot 7. It is dated 1358 (AH).
To reflect these political turmoil, the Afghan flag is superseded by the inscription in farsi of the defeated Khalq party, demonstrating an increased autonomy of the weavers and a renewed interpretation of the role of the artist in his own art. It certainly pleased the former hippy keen to promote the multi-cultural dimension of his Mappe.
Also for political reasons, the Namibian flag has been removed. The ocean is a deep rose pink, possibly to avoid an extensive use of blue threads then under shortage in Kabul.
A 1984 Mappa signed by Alighiero Boetti, embroidery on canvas 113 x 170 cm on a silver color background, was sold for $ 1.84M by Sotheby's on November 18, 2021, lot 124. That date marks a restart after the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR.
Made in the same year and size, a Mappa woven in Kabul was sold for £ 880K by Sotheby's on June 28, 2010.
In 1984 the artist also began to work with weavers displaced to Peshawar, Pakistan, by the political events.
5
1988-1989
2021 SOLD for £ 2.3M by Christie's
In the later 1980s, Alighiero Boetti's colors of the Mappe converge to blue seas, which effectively offer a nice contrast with the other colors.
A 128 x 230 cm embroidery on linen executed in Afghanistan was sold for £ 2.3M from a lower estimate of £ 1.2M by Christie's on October 15, 2021, lot 17. Oceans are cyan.
It is dated in Persian script 1360 AH matching 1988-1989 CE and bears on the border among other inscriptions a motto of the artist revealing his desire to control the time despite the unstable contours of the political countries : a tempo, in tempo, con tempo, il temporale.
Another Persian inscription regrets the recent history of the beautiful Afghanistan which was had been no more accessible to his business for a few years after the 1984 Soviet invasion.
The tapestries would take from a few months to several years to complete. In the above example, the flags and borders keep their 1988 figures before the 1989 termination of the Cold War.
A 128 x 230 cm embroidery on linen executed in Afghanistan was sold for £ 2.3M from a lower estimate of £ 1.2M by Christie's on October 15, 2021, lot 17. Oceans are cyan.
It is dated in Persian script 1360 AH matching 1988-1989 CE and bears on the border among other inscriptions a motto of the artist revealing his desire to control the time despite the unstable contours of the political countries : a tempo, in tempo, con tempo, il temporale.
Another Persian inscription regrets the recent history of the beautiful Afghanistan which was had been no more accessible to his business for a few years after the 1984 Soviet invasion.
The tapestries would take from a few months to several years to complete. In the above example, the flags and borders keep their 1988 figures before the 1989 termination of the Cold War.
6
1989
2010 SOLD for £ 1.83M by Christie's
A 116 x 217 cm Mappa was sold for £ 1.83M from a lower estimate of £ 900K by Christie's on June 30, 2010, lot 10. This embroidered tapestry was executed in 1989 in Peshawar by Afghan refugees from the communist backed regime.
Its deep blue oceans distinguish it from the other examples. It is inscribed in Farsi in its border with a quote from the medieval poet Sa'di whose English translation is 'Of One Essence is the Human Race, Thusly has Creation put the Base', accompanied by a temporal Italian statement by the artist.
This encounter of mankind and time and of East and West reflects a new hope for the world as the termination of the Cold War is in view, to be formally assessed by Gorbachev and Bush in December of that year.
In this specific Mappa the written instructions of the artist for the colors have been incorporated by its makers into the woven design of each flag.
Its deep blue oceans distinguish it from the other examples. It is inscribed in Farsi in its border with a quote from the medieval poet Sa'di whose English translation is 'Of One Essence is the Human Race, Thusly has Creation put the Base', accompanied by a temporal Italian statement by the artist.
This encounter of mankind and time and of East and West reflects a new hope for the world as the termination of the Cold War is in view, to be formally assessed by Gorbachev and Bush in December of that year.
In this specific Mappa the written instructions of the artist for the colors have been incorporated by its makers into the woven design of each flag.
7
1989-1991
2022 SOLD for $ 8.8M by Sotheby's
A monumental Mappa 260 x 585 cm by Alighiero Boetti was sold for $ 8.8M by Sotheby's on November 16, 2022, lot 129.
This embroidery on fabric is dated 1989, 90 and 91 and inscribed Peshawar Pakistan by Afghan People on the overlap. These three years saw the fall of the Berlin wall, in November 1989, the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 and the deletion of the iron curtain in Eastern Europe. This Mappa is indeed a swan song of the sickle and hammer as a national symbol.
This embroidery on fabric is dated 1989, 90 and 91 and inscribed Peshawar Pakistan by Afghan People on the overlap. These three years saw the fall of the Berlin wall, in November 1989, the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 and the deletion of the iron curtain in Eastern Europe. This Mappa is indeed a swan song of the sickle and hammer as a national symbol.
2009 Map of China by Ai Weiwei
2016 SOLD for $ 2.5M by Christie's
For the first time in its history, the continuity of the Chinese artistic tradition is severely disrupted by the Cultural Revolution. Even at the worst time of the Opium Wars such an extreme situation had been avoided. The son of a poet persecuted by the Cultural Revolution, Ai Weiwei chooses art and appropriation to express his political dissent.
A photographic self-portrait in triptych from 1995 shows Ai deliberately breaking a Han urn. A print 136 x 109 cm per element made in 2004 was sold for £ 760K by Sotheby's on February 10, 2016. The antique wares participate again in his political message when he paints them in bright colors that cancel their original features.
Ai is an architect. He makes tables that are impossible to use, either because the legs are not parallel or because the top is obstructed by an oblique beam. This phase in Ai's career predates his international fame obtained for his loud speaking participation in the Olympic Stadium in Beijing and in the relief operations after the Sichuan earthquake.
An example of a Map of China clearly demonstrates the similarity of inspiration of this series with his three leg tables. Realized in 2004 or shortly earlier, it has a 51 x 55 cm top over an extravagant pattern of 3.80 m high legs. This artwork was sold for HK $ 9M by Sotheby's on April 5, 2014.
Ai's Maps of China are made in fragments of ironwood also named tieli recovered in the ruins of temples destroyed by the Cultural Revolution. The elements are assembled by a traditional Chinese technique of nail-less carpentry as a jigsaw whose external border shapes the Chinese map. The size of the top and the height of the legs are variable.
Ai continued to produce pieces from that model with the same woods from the temples. The largest, realized in 2008, is 4 meter long and weighs 635 kg. A Map of China 124 x 100 x 104 cm made in 2009 was sold for $ 2.5M by Christie's on May 11, 2016, lot 441 removed from the online catalogue, and for £ 790K by Phillips on October 6, 2017, lot 20.
A photographic self-portrait in triptych from 1995 shows Ai deliberately breaking a Han urn. A print 136 x 109 cm per element made in 2004 was sold for £ 760K by Sotheby's on February 10, 2016. The antique wares participate again in his political message when he paints them in bright colors that cancel their original features.
Ai is an architect. He makes tables that are impossible to use, either because the legs are not parallel or because the top is obstructed by an oblique beam. This phase in Ai's career predates his international fame obtained for his loud speaking participation in the Olympic Stadium in Beijing and in the relief operations after the Sichuan earthquake.
An example of a Map of China clearly demonstrates the similarity of inspiration of this series with his three leg tables. Realized in 2004 or shortly earlier, it has a 51 x 55 cm top over an extravagant pattern of 3.80 m high legs. This artwork was sold for HK $ 9M by Sotheby's on April 5, 2014.
Ai's Maps of China are made in fragments of ironwood also named tieli recovered in the ruins of temples destroyed by the Cultural Revolution. The elements are assembled by a traditional Chinese technique of nail-less carpentry as a jigsaw whose external border shapes the Chinese map. The size of the top and the height of the legs are variable.
Ai continued to produce pieces from that model with the same woods from the temples. The largest, realized in 2008, is 4 meter long and weighs 635 kg. A Map of China 124 x 100 x 104 cm made in 2009 was sold for $ 2.5M by Christie's on May 11, 2016, lot 441 removed from the online catalogue, and for £ 790K by Phillips on October 6, 2017, lot 20.
