Sebastian Münster (1489–1552) - Cosmographia Universalis - L'Astrologia di Babilonia e la Descrizione dell'Arabia - 1550

This original sheet is a precious Renaissance page drawn from the Latin edition of 1550 of Sebastian Münster's Cosmographia universalis, printed in Basel by the publisher Heinrich Petri, focusing on the ancient lands of the Near East. The front of the page, marked with the number 1191, opens by concluding the examination of Babylonian customs and then delves into the sciences and religious customs with the chapter De legibus Babyloniorum, et de astrologia Chaldeorum (Cap. LXVIII). The Latin text meticulously describes the famous market of wives in ancient Babylon and probes the extraordinary wisdom of the Chaldean astrologers and soothsayers, renowned for dream interpretation, celestial wonders, and the movements of the planets influenced by Saturn’s course. The visual composition of the front is magnificently enriched by an woodcut depicting astrologers observing the night sky with quadrants and astronomical measuring instruments under a starry celestial vault. At the lower part of the page begins the extensive geographical section devoted to the Arabian Peninsula (Arabia triplex, Petrea, Deserta et Felix, Cap. LXIX), describing its triple partition and recounting the biblical passage of the people of Israel through the Red Sea before entering the rugged territories inhabited by nomadic tribes and Bedouins (Scenitae nodamdae).
Turning the page, the reverse, numbered 1192 (under the header De terris Asiae maioris), continues the detailed geographical treatment, focusing on the environmental peculiarities of the region with the chapter on Arabia Petraea (Arabia Petraea, Cap. LXX). The text examines the famous and impregnable fortified city of Petra, the geographic boundaries described by Strabo and Pliny, and the majesty of the theological Mount Sinai (Mons Sina), sacred place of the delivery of the Law to Moses and the refuge of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. The historiographical account also describes the dangers of the sandy desert and the sea of sand (Mare fabulosum), crossed by skilled caravanners protected by compasses and camels, finally introducing a meticulous polemical and medieval historiographical treatment of the city of Medina (Medina Talnabi), described in its architectural monuments, hanging lamps, and the veneration of the tomb and the doctrine of the prophet Muhammad (Mahumeti religio vana), highlighted in the margin by descriptive notes on Islamic worship.

Dimensions 30 x 20 cm
Will be shipped by courier