Sebastian Münster (1489–1552) - Cosmographia Universalis - Polonia / Miniere di Sale di Bochnia - 1550

This original sheet is a precious Renaissance page drawn from the 1550 Latin edition of Sebastian Münster's Cosmographia universalis, printed in Basel by the publisher Heinrich Petri, focusing on the natural riches and the dynastic chronicle of the Kingdom of Poland. The front of the page, marked with the number 1051, opens with the fascinating chapter Quando et quomodo inventa fuit fodina salis in regno Poloniae (Cap. XIIII), which describes the historical discovery and the complex extraction methods in the famous and lucrative underground salt mines of Bochnia (Bochnia) and Wieliczka (Vielitzka), not far from Kraków. The text describes the depth of the tunnels, the dangers of miners’ work, and the extraordinary properties of the hard, gleaming salt extracted from the rock cavities. At the bottom part of the page begins the political chronicle titled Ducatus Graccoviensis vario ordine inter principes Poloniae latus est (Cap. XIIII), which recounts the turbulent successions and military conflicts of Polish dukes and princes of the 13th century, among which stand out the historical figures of Henry with the Beard (Henricus cum barba), Leszek the Black (Lesczo niger) and the dukes of Silesia and Breslau, enriched in the margins by genealogical and biographical annotations on the dramatic end of some rulers. Turning the page, the reverse, numbered 1052 (under the heading De Polonia), continues the historiographical narration with the chapter Ducatus Poloniae rursum in regnum sublimatur (Cap. XV), focused on the crucial moment when Polish territories, previously fragmented into duchies, were reunified under a single crown. The text describes in depth the election and the solemn coronation, which took place in 1295 at Gniezno, of Duke Przemysł II as King of Poland (Premislaus rex), about which is also told his tragic and premature death at the hands of the margraves of Brandenburg. The visual composition of the back is magnificently enriched by two woodcut portraits inserted in circular medallions depicting King Przemysł II (Premislaus rex) and his successor, the famous King Ladislaus I the Lofty (Vladislaus Locticeus), described in his long struggles against Wenceslaus II of Bohemia and Henry of Głogów to restore and firmly establish the kingdom’s stability and to assert the ceremonial primacy of the Cracow cathedral for the royal coronations.

Dimensions 30 x 20 cm
Shipped by courier.