Dierick Vijt | A portolan chart of northern and western Europe. Probably Amsterdam, c.1575–1580

Dierick Vijt

A portolan chart of western Europe. Probably Amsterdam, c.1575–1580

Illuminated manuscript portolan chart in ink and colours on vellum, approximately 665 x 660mm., signed “Bij mij Dierick Vijt” by the western scale bar, the chart extending from Greenland to the west coast of the Kanin peninsula, including the north coast of Africa and the Mediterranean as far as Sardinia and Corsica, extending westwards to include the Canary Islands, the Azores, La Palma, Madeira, Porto Santo, the “phantom” island of Brasil, and an unidentified island off the west coast of Iceland, coastlines in green, the province of Holland outlined in red, coastal place names in red and black, sandbanks shown along the Dutch coast, 2 large and 5 small decorative compass roses, each border with a central half compass rose, 17 flags including of principal nations, two decorative scale bars and a longitudinal graticule, rhumb lines in red, green and gold, light soiling and creasing

PROVENANCE:

Von Maldeghem family, probably Philip von Maldeghem (1547–1611); Sale, Christie’s, 1 June 1999, lot 9, £86,200

LITERATURE:

R. Pflederer, Census of Portolan Charts and Atlases, V058