A high-resolution paper art print, printed to order, rolled and shipped in a sturdy protective tube.
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anonymous - Map of the Island of Malta - 1645 - Poster Print
This engraved map presents the island of Malta with its neighbouring islands of Comino and Gozo, set against a sea field marked "Mer" and "Mediterranée". The main island is divided into labelled parishes, including Nochiaro, Calcara, Sigeo, Zunco and Zaric, and shows the fortified town of Medine beside Citta Vecchia, with roads, coastal settlements and small building symbols. A decorative compass rose sits at the lower centre, with a scale of miles at lower right. The title cartouche in the upper left describes the islands as formerly known as Melita, Gaulos or Gaudos, and as dependencies of the Order of the Grand Master of Malta. The inscription "Canal d'entre Malte et Sicile" appears across the top.
The map records the territory of the Knights of Malta during the seventeenth century, when the archipelago was under the authority of the Order. Its parish divisions, fortified centres and maritime labelling reflect the administration and defence of the islands, and the channel between Malta and Sicily was a strategic waterway for the Order's naval activity. The identification of the islands with ancient names such as Melita and Gaulos places the contemporary territory within a classical geographic tradition, a common device in printed maps of the Mediterranean of this period.
The maker is recorded as anonymous. The work is an engraving on paper in the French cartographic style of the mid-seventeenth century, marked by precise line work, lettered place names in French, and a dedicatory and scale apparatus typical of contemporary printed charts. It is held in the Rijksmuseum collection and is catalogued under the Dutch title "Kaart van het eiland Malta".