Portolan Charts of Bartolomeo Oliva

Bartolomeo Olives wurde auf Mallorca ausgebildet und war dann als Kartograf in Messina und Venedig tätig
The style of the Majorcan school of cartography is characterized by the depiction of topographical features and other details on the terrestrial terrain
This sumptuous maps are opulently designed with colorful illuminations and lavish golden details

Portolan Charts of Bartolomeo Oliva

MS Canon Ital. 143 Bodleian Library (Oxford, United Kingdom)

Description

Portolan Charts of Bartolomeo Oliva

The Majorcan school of cartography was one of the most important schools of cartography in Europe in the late Middle Ages and was particularly valued for its portolan maps. It was in this school that the Majorcan Bartolomeo Oliva received his excellent training, which was followed by a long career that took him among others to Messina and Venice. One of his most beautiful works are the Portolan Charts, which are kept in the Bodlein Library and depict all the seas between the Levante and the Brazilian coast. In keeping with Majorcan tradition, they not only show the meticulously inscribed coastlines, but are also magnificently illuminated. Important topographical features such as major cities and mountains are marked in red and green, while enthroned rulers command the vast land masses. Each map is decorated all over with precious gold, making this atlas a very impressive representative object.

Codicology

Alternative Titles: Portolan-Karten des Bartolomeo Olives von Mallorca
Carta da Navigar
Portolan by Bartolomeo Olives of Mallorca
Bartomeu Olives, Carta da Navigar
Type: Map on parchment
Size / Format: 5 maps / 42.0 × 55.0 cm
Origin: Italy
Date: June 17, 1559
Epochs: Late Middle Ages Onwards
Style: Renaissance
Genre: Geography / Maps
Language: Italian
Latin
Spanish
Script: Gothic Hybrida Square Capitals
Illustrations: Golden applications, portraits of rulers and various other small illuminations
Content: Navigational maps of all parts of the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean
Artist / School: Bartolomeo Oliva of Mallorca
Majorcan School of Cartography
Previous Owners: Matteo Luigi Canonici
Giuseppe Canonici
Giovanni Perissinotti