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Treasures of the Map Collection open to the public

An exhibition organised by the Map Collection of the CU Faculty of Science and presenting a valuable collection of hand-drawn maps, old atlases and digitalised globes, has just opened to the public. Visitors to the exhibition, entitled Poklady Mapové sbírky (‘Treasures of the Map Collection’), can look forward to a number of unique, newly-discovered items, including Gijsbertson’s map of Europe, De Wit’s map of Germany and Camocio’s map of the Turkish siege of Malta. This will be the first time that the entire collection of cartographical exhibits has been presented to the public in this form. The exhibition is open until the end of July and admission is free.



“The exhibition presents an original collection of works that have not yet been on display to the public and is aimed at lovers of geography, history and cartography, as well as the arts, graphics and crafts, all of which are part of old maps, atlases and globes. They are a reflection of their time, when the author of a map could be recognised by their cartographical precision and use of colours, engravings and original compositions,” noted PhDr. et Mgr. Eva Novotná, director of the Map Collection.


The exhibition, which is taking place with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, presents works of major significance from the oldest cartographical periods in Europe, i.e. works from the Roman Empire, Arabia and the Middle Ages. Maps of Bohemia occupy a special place in the exhibition, and visitors can view maps and documents depicting the entirety of the lands of the Bohemian Crown over the course of centuries. This part of the exhibition includes maps by Podolský and Kreibich, as well as printed, hand-coloured maps by Criginger, Aretin, Vogt, Fabricius, Komenský and Helwig. The famous Kosmografie česká by the humanist Sigismund of Puchov will also be on display.


Probably the greatest treasures on display, and completely unknown to the public up until now, will be a collection of wall maps, only discovered and restored very recently. These include a map of Europe by Frederik de Wit (a truly unique item, as this map is part of no other collection in the world) and a map of Europe by Evert Gijsbertson.


The centrepoint of the exhibition are works by Dutch masters of the golden age of cartography at the turn of the 17th century, including engravers and master printers distinguished by their knowledge of geography, broad overview of new discoveries abroad, broad education, as well as their considerable artistic abilities, in which they were the equal of their contemporary masters painters.


Also playing a major role in the exhibition is Renaissance Italy, many of whose original, unique maps form part of the collection. Amongst the jewels in the Map Collection is the unique 2nd edition of the map published in 1565 by Giovanni Francesco Camocio, which includes a depiction of the siege of Malta by the Turks in the same year.


The exhibition also includes works from the German school of cartography. A special section includes depictions of towns and cities via topographical images, vedutas and detailed maps including descriptions and histories of the places depicted. Naturally it includes works by master cartographer Václav Hollar; apart from his famous views of London, the collection also includes the Brazilian Olinda, which in 1630 was the scene of a battle between the Portuguese and Dutch.


The history of cartography also includes globes, armillary spheres and telluria. Visitors to the exhibition can view digitalised 3D models of globes by Blaeu and Seutter. There’s also something for atlas enthusiasts.


The exhibition is being held in the foyer of the Map Collection of the CU Faculty of Science at Albertov 6 in Prague 2 and is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday, until 31 July of this year.


By: PhDr. et Mgr. Eva Novotná; red.





Last change: May 19, 2004 16:46 
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