| ORBIS TERRARUM TABLULA RECENS EMENDATA ET IN LUCEM EDITA | |
Subject: World |
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| This edition of Visscher's Bible map includes four allegorical representations of the known continents in the four corners. Asia is represented as a woman wearing a Muslim Fez and flowing robes. She is holding a statuette in one hand and a string of beads or jewels in the other. She is surrounded by a type of antelope and an elephant, and she has an incense burner at her feet. Africa is represented as a more scantily clad woman with a man holding an umbrella or fan over her. She is surrounded by lions and crocodiles. America is represented by an even more scantily clad woman with a headdress, a bow, and a quiver of arrows. There are other Native Americans in the scene with two people in a canoe on a lake that seems to have a fire in it. Europe is shown as a Queen with a jeweled crown and holding a scepter. She is surrounded by musical instruments and navigation aids. Domesticated animals roam her scene. Most notably, an African and an Asian are seen bringing ivory and jewels respectively, as tribute to the European royalty. In the lower center of the map there is a representation of the Ptolemaic view of the Solar System. The Sun, Moon, and all of the planets and constellations are seen to revolve around the Earth at the center of the known universe. In contrast, the upper center of the map contains a representation of the Copernican vision of the Solar System. The Sun holds the central place with the earth shown as the 3rd planet out. The placement of the Copernican Solar System at the top of this map pays tribute to the boldness of Visscher and the freedoms brought about by the reformation. The back of this map contains text describing the known world in Dutch. |
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