Auction 71 - The Collection of Rabbi Prof. Daniel Sperber
"The Wanderings and Life of Abraham the Patriarch" – Abraham Ortelius – Antwerp, 1590 – Hand-Colored Engraving
Opening: $300
Sold for: $2,500
Including buyer's premium
Abrahami Patriarchae Peregrinatio, et Vita [The Wanderings and Life of Abraham the Patriarch], hand-colored engraving, from Abraham Ortelius's Additamentum IV Theatri Orbis Terrarum. Antwerp, [1590].
The map (after Tilemann Stella) depicts the land of Canaan and part of Egypt, from Dan in the north to the Nile Delta in the south. It illustrates the story of Abraham as recorded in Genesis and shows the territories of the various nations of Canaan. The Dead Sea is not depicted, the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Adma and Tzevoyim appearing instead. An inset map of the Middle East shows Abraham's route from Ur of the Chaldees to Nablus. Three scale bars representing three different measuring methods appear on the right bottom corner. Top and bottom verses from the book of Genesis (12, 1-2. Latin): "Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father's house to the land that I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation and I will bless thee and make thy name great and thou shall be a blessing".
Surrounding the map are 22 medallion vingettes depicting scenes from the life of Abraham, after illustrations by the Dutch artist Marten de Vos (1532-1603): the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael and the binding of Isaac, the burial of Abraham and Sarah, and more.
Latin text on verso (with a title identical to that of the map).
Engraved map: approx. 35X46 cm (printed on two conjoined sheets), in an approx. 72X61 cm double sided frame (showing both sides of the map). Good condition. Unexamined out of frame.
Literature: The Land of Israel in Maps from Madaba to Satellite (Hebrew), edited by Ariel Tishbi. Jerusalem: Israel Museum, 2001. p. 98.
Laor 547.
The map (after Tilemann Stella) depicts the land of Canaan and part of Egypt, from Dan in the north to the Nile Delta in the south. It illustrates the story of Abraham as recorded in Genesis and shows the territories of the various nations of Canaan. The Dead Sea is not depicted, the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Adma and Tzevoyim appearing instead. An inset map of the Middle East shows Abraham's route from Ur of the Chaldees to Nablus. Three scale bars representing three different measuring methods appear on the right bottom corner. Top and bottom verses from the book of Genesis (12, 1-2. Latin): "Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father's house to the land that I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation and I will bless thee and make thy name great and thou shall be a blessing".
Surrounding the map are 22 medallion vingettes depicting scenes from the life of Abraham, after illustrations by the Dutch artist Marten de Vos (1532-1603): the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael and the binding of Isaac, the burial of Abraham and Sarah, and more.
Latin text on verso (with a title identical to that of the map).
Engraved map: approx. 35X46 cm (printed on two conjoined sheets), in an approx. 72X61 cm double sided frame (showing both sides of the map). Good condition. Unexamined out of frame.
Literature: The Land of Israel in Maps from Madaba to Satellite (Hebrew), edited by Ariel Tishbi. Jerusalem: Israel Museum, 2001. p. 98.
Laor 547.
Maps of Palestine
Maps of Palestine