| Method | Copper engraving |
| Artist | Coenraet Decker |
| Published | Amsterdam, Jacob Meurs, op de Keysers-Graft; Johannes van Someren, in de Kalverstract, 1676 |
| Dimensions | Image and Plate 108 x 142 mm, Sheet 214 x 169 mm |
| Notes |
A view of Cape of Good Hope from Wouter Schoutens 'Oost-Indische Voyagie Eerste Boeck vervattende veel voorname voorvallen' (East Indian Voyages, First Book, encompassing many major incidents) The print shows a group of Dutch explorers interacting with a group of natives. The accompanying text describes their visit to the cape, with details of their exploration of 'Lion' and 'Table' mountains and the wildlife found there. The Dutch colonists who already reside there are discussed, with details of their farming and cultivating of the land explained. The Cape of Good Hope is one of the most significant and famous navigational points in the history of seafaring. Although traditionally believed to be the southernmost point of the continent of Africa, and thus the meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, the cape is actually on the southern Atlantic coast of modern-day South Africa. The discovery and navigation of the Cape is usually attested to the Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias, who christened it the 'Cape of Storms' on the 12th of March 1488. In fact, the Cape may have been known apocryphally in the classical era, in connection with the Ptolemaic navigator Eudoxus of Cyzicus, who, after being blown off course down the eastern coast of Africa, met the wreck of a ship from Gades coming North. His belief that the ship had completed a circumnavigation of the continent led to his own attempt, which likely resulted in his death. Regardless of its original discoverer, following Dias, the Cape became a vital supply point for ships travelling to the East Indies, and by the 17th century, was a favourite refuelling point for the 'Pirate Round.' Coenraet Decker (1650-1685) was a Dutch Golden Age engraver. He was educated and was a pupil of Romeyn de Hooghe, who was an important and prolific Dutch Baroque artist and engraver. Condition: Light creasing to lower left corner, time toning to sheet, small ink stain to bottom of text. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £180.00 |
| Stock ID | 46170 |