Hand-Colored Map of Jerusalem – Cologne, 1575 – From the First Latin Edition of Civitates Orbis Terrarum

Hierosolyma urbs sancta, Iudaeae, totiusque Orientis longe clarissima, qua amplitudine ac magnificentia hoc nostro aevo conspicua est. [Cologne: Aegidius Radeus, 1575].

Hand-colored engraving, from the first Latin edition of volume II of the city atlas Civitates Orbis Terrarum by Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg (Cologne, 1575; vol. II, plate 54).

Bird’s-eye view of Jerusalem from the east.

While intended as a realistic depiction of the city – unlike earlier imaginary reconstructions – the map retains several conventional inaccuracies. Notably, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is depicted from the south, despite the ostensibly eastern orientation.

A legend at the corner identifies 48 sites in and around Jerusalem. At the top appears a Latin verse from Ezekiel: "This is Jerusalem; in the midst of the nations I have placed it, and around it are lands".

In the foreground appear five figures in Eastern attire. As Braun explains in the preface to vol. I of the atlas, the inclusion of human figures was intended to deter Turkish military use of the atlas, as Islamic law forbade representations of the human form.

Engraved map: approx. 39.5X42.5 cm (printed on two joined sheets; Latin text on verso of one sheet: Hierosolyma, plate 54). Overall good condition. Stains. Minor tears and marginal wear. Open tear to corner, reinforced with paper.

Laor 1040.