Europe - Greece, Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Turkey; Verdussen - Grece ou Partie Meridionale de la Turquie en Europe Divisée en Grands Gouvernements Selon Ricaut - 1725

Technical sheet

Title: Grece ou Partie Meridionale de la Turquie en Europe Divisée en Grands Gouvernements Selon Ricaut Anglois.
Author: attributed to Jacques Peeters, also noted as Jacobus or I. Peeters; name not present on the plate.
Engraver: attributed to Jacobus Harrewijn (1660–1727); signature not identified.
Designer: not indicated; the title recalls Paul Rycaut as a reference for the description of territorial subdivisions.
Publisher: Juan Bautista Verdussen, according to the editorial data of the edition to which it belongs.
Place: Antwerp.
Date: 1725
Technique: copper-engraved intaglio on copper, with period hand coloring on the borders and on the cartouche.
Support: laid paper.
Dimensions: sheet 19 × 20 cm; plate impression 18.5 × 15 cm.
Composition: single plate with vertical editorial fold; verso blank.

Description

Geographic map of Greece and the southern part of European Turkey, with depiction of the Balkan peninsula, the Aegean archipelago and surrounding regions. The depicted territory includes continental Greece and the Peloponnese, also indicated as Morea, together with Macedonia, Albania, Thrace and portions of Serbia, Bulgaria and Dalmatia. At the margins appear southern Italy, part of Sicily, Crete and the western coast of Asia Minor.

The dense nomenclature identifies cities, regions, islands and main geographic features, preserving historic names such as “Romanie,” “Servie” and “Golfe de Salonique.” The depiction combines the detailing of coasts and archipelagos with the territorial subdivision referenced in the title.

In the lower left corner there is an ornamental cartouche with volutes, surmounted by a small shield and containing the title and a scale expressed in hours of travel. A graduated frame delimites the map. The manual coloring distinguishes territorial boundaries and enhances the cartouche and border.

Historical-artistic note

The map belongs to the tradition of pocket atlases produced in Antwerp from the late 17th to the early 18th century, characterized by a compact format and a high density of geographic information.

The reference to “Ricaut Anglois,” i.e. Paul Rycaut, links the representation to European literature on the Ottoman Empire. The title places Greece within the geopolitical geography of the time, as the southern part of European Turkey.

The attribution to Peeters relates to the cartographic and editorial repertoire in which the plate sits; Harrewijn’s involvement remains proposed in the absence of an incised signature.

Condition Report

Map with widespread yellowing and brown foxing, present on the recto and verso, more evident in the margins. Central vertical editorial fold with browning, wear and small irregularities along the axis. Subtle creases and waves of the support. Margins of uneven width. The engraved part is legible, with preserved coloring. Verso blank, with printing and colors showing through."}