A 16th century Italian plan of Hangzhou

VALEGIO, Francesco.

Quinzai Metropolis Asie Orientalis.
Venice: Donato Rascicotti, c.1598. 100 x 140mm.

Old ink pagination in top margin.

An early town plan of the capital city of China as described by Marco Polo, 'Jing-shi', now Hangzhou, published in Valegio's pocket atlas of town plans, 'Raccolta di le piu illustri et famose Città di tutto il Mondo'. It is one of the few plans not based on Braun & Hogenberg: instead it was copied from the woodcut in André Thevet's 'La Cosmographie Universelle' of 1572, which was the first western map of any Chinese city.
Of the 322 plans in this series, 112 are signed by Valegio, six were reissues of plates engraved by Martin Rota in 1572, and the rest were anonymous, as this example.

KING: Miniature Maps, pp.76-7.
Stock ID : 24153