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"Descrittione dell' Isola Taprobana" Map

Late 16th century (c. 1590)

An original 16th-century copperplate map leaf "Descrittione dell' Isola Taprobana" by Tomaso Porcacchi from L'isole più famose del mondo, printed in Venice for the 1590 edition (or a closely contemporary late-16th-century edition). The map depicts the island of Taprobana (Ceylon / Sri Lanka) with Italian text on the reverse, and has been professionally mounted in a removable conservation frame using UV-protective glass.

This is an original copperplate-engraved map titled "Descrittione dell' Isola Taprobana" by the Italian humanist Tomaso Porcacchi (c.1530–1585), from his celebrated isolario L'isole più famose del mondo ("The most famous islands of the world"). The map was engraved by Girolamo Porro and printed in Venice. The leaf layout and the Italian heading "DESCRITTIONE DELL' ISOLA DI TAPROBANA" on pages 185–186 in the digital copy match the known settings of Porcacchi's book. Trade references and the accompanying certificate of authenticity from Antique Print Gallery describe this sheet as coming from the 1590 Venice edition of the work; bibliographic records confirm such an edition and show that the same plate was reused in later printings. To stay accurate, this item is best described as a late-16th-century impression, very probably printed for the 1590 edition.

The map image (about 20.5 × 29.5 cm) shows the island of Taprobana, a classical name used by ancient authors for a large island in the Indian Ocean, later associated mainly with Ceylon (Sri Lanka). The decorative copperplate engraving includes a title cartouche and a sailing ship, with the coastline, rivers and settlements schematically indicated in the style of the period. The verso carries Porcacchi's explanatory essay in Italian. In modern terms, the text repeats what classical writers such as Solinus, Strabo, Eratosthenes and Pliny said about Taprobana's position and size, turning their ancient measurements (stades) into Italian miles. It describes the island as so large that some thought it was "another world" inhabited by antipodes, lying many days' sailing south of India. It discusses differing opinions on whether Taprobana should be identified with Sumatra or Zeilan (Ceylon), and argues in favour of Ceylon by comparing latitude, coastlines and what can be seen of the northern sky. It lists the island's ten kingdoms, with names like Pedir, Pacem and Achem, and notes which ports are best for anchorage and trade. It also mentions gold deposits, other natural riches, and some marvels including a great lake and numerous cities, alongside reports of peoples with unusual customs, reflecting Renaissance travellers' tales rather than reliable ethnography.

The map was acquired from Antique Print Gallery Ltd (antiquemapsandprints.com), a long-established UK dealer in original maps and prints, accompanied by a signed Certificate of Authenticity from Richard Bennett confirming the title, author, date and publication. After acquisition it was professionally framed by Framing Centre & Artmill Gallery, Hyde Park, Plymouth, using Artglass AR 99 conservation-grade anti-reflective, UV-protective glass and a reversible mounting, so that the sheet can be removed and the verso text examined without damage. The frame is designed so the back can be opened if future conservation or re-mounting is ever required.

Significance

Porcacchi's L'isole più famose del mondo is one of the earliest printed books devoted entirely to islands, and among the first to use copperplate engraving instead of woodcut for its maps. It distilled geographical knowledge from classical authors and contemporary exploration into a portable, visually rich form and influenced how educated Europeans imagined the world's islands in the late Renaissance. Taprobana, long associated with Sri Lanka, occupied a special place in ancient and medieval geography as a quasi-mythical, antipodal land at the edge of the known world; maps like this are a tangible record of that mental geography. Owning an original leaf from Porcacchi's isolario connects directly to the moment when Europe's picture of the Indian Ocean was shifting from classical speculation to empirically mapped reality.

Of Note

1.
L'isole più famose del mondo was first published in Venice in 1572 and remained influential for more than a century, with editions as late as 1713. 2.
The work is frequently described as the first island book with copperplate maps — a significant technical leap over earlier woodcut isolarii. 3.
Ancient writers disagreed whether Taprobana was modern Sri Lanka or Sumatra; Porcacchi's text on the reverse of this very leaf shows him carefully weighing those conflicting identifications. 4.
The combination of map and facing essay makes each leaf a self-contained miniature geography lesson — almost an early printed "infographic." 5.
Modern dealers describe Porcacchi's island maps as some of the earliest obtainable separate maps for several islands, including Cyprus and others, making them favourites among collectors of antique cartography.

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