[Maps & Atlases] Oliva, Joan: Portolan Chart of the Mediterranean

Oliva, Joan
Portolan Chart of the Mediterranean
Marseille, 1615. Illuminated manuscript portolan chart on vellum, in red, blue, green, and sepia inks, heightened in gold; 16 wind compasses; three large scale bars; within foliate border at top and bottom edge; place names executed in a small neat hand in red and sepia inks; shield with royal arms of France at left, shield with arms of Marseille at same; shield with Cross of St. George at left; verso blank; 30 3/4 x 22 in. (781 x 559 mm). Inscription in upper left-hand corner, “Joannes Oliva fecit in Civitate Marsilier ano domini 1615”. Scattered losses, closed tears, and wear along edges; loss in left and right edges affecting compasses and foliate border; residue in top center edge from sometime removed paper; bottom right edge worn and browned; old central horizontal crease; scattered soiling and surface wear; scattered fading to ink; some faint offsetting from when folded. Professionally mounted with ties at outer edges. In gilt frame, 36 1/4 x 27 5/8 in. (921 x 702 mm). Astengo, The Renaissance Chart Tradition in the Mediterranean, p. 233 (this chart mentioned in note 347); Julio Rey Pastor and Ernesto Garcia Camarero, La Cartografia Mallorquina, Madrid, 1960, pp. 137-144; Marcel Destombes, “Francois Ollive et l'Hydrographie Marseillaise au XVII”

A rare portolan chart of the Mediterranean by Joan Oliva, one of only four extant works from his short chart making period in Marseille, and the only one from this period still in private hands.

Oliva was the most prolific and highly regarded member of the distinguished Oliva family, a mapmaking dynasty that dominated chart-making production in Europe in the 16th to the mid-17th centuries. The family is said to have emigrated in the early 16th century from Majorca, Spain to Italy, and had upwards of 16 members who created nautical charts between 1538 and 1673. Joan's birth and death dates are uncertain, but he is known to have operated out of numerous locations during his life, starting in Italy, in Messina (1592-99), then Naples (1601-03), and then out of Marseille, France (1612-15), where this chart was created in 1615. In 1616 he emigrated to the Tuscan port town of Livorno, where he established his first cartographic studio. Maps from this location date from about 1618-43. Oliva's frequent movements during this period are suggested by Corradino Astengo to indicate that Oliva was a sailor, and "who for fifteen-odd years only occasionally dedicated himself to cartography. It was only after 1618, when he finally settled in Leghorn, that he took up the profession full time for the remainder of his life…” (p. 228)

Portolan makers were typically drawn to bustling port cities where their charts became invaluable to ships captains. Marseille became an important port during the mid-16th century due to increased trade with the East, attracting cartographers from around the Mediterranean, such as the Oliva, Roussin, and Bremond families, who dominated chart-making there until the end of the 17th century.

Oliva's extant works total about 40 or more charts or atlases. This chart is one of only four known extant works from his time in France, and the only one from this period still in private hands. The other extant works from his time in Marseille are two atlases (1613 and 1614) and one nautical chart (1612). These are held at the British Library, the Biblioteca Nazionale in Naples, and at the Museo Storico Navale in Venice, respectively.

This highly detailed chart encompasses the entire Mediterranean region, with Sicily oriented at center. When positioned horizontally the right side shows Asia Minor, Crimea and the Black Sea, and extends along the Levant and the North coast of Africa into Egypt. The bottom side extends to the Northwest coast of Africa and the Atlantic Ocean out to the Canary Islands, with the top side showing parts of Ireland and England, and then the elaborately detailed coastlines of Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, and Greece. An intricate network of sepia ink rhumb lines crisscrosses the entire chart, emanating from 16 colorful wind compasses, while three large scale bars with colorful arabesque borders extend along the coasts of North and Northwest Africa and Europe. Hundreds of coastal towns and ports are identified by name, largely in Italian, with larger locales written in red ink, and secondary, or smaller locations written in sepia ink. Large peninsulas such as the Crimea and Peloponnese, as well as islands such as Sicily, Cyprus, England, and Mallorca, are outlined in green ink, with smaller islands painted in alternating green and red inks. Over the islands of Malta, Rhodes, and Chios a cross is shown in red. Major rivers feeding into the Mediterranean are shown in blue ink, such as the Nile, which extends to the map's lower right edge. Pictorial elements adorn the map, such as the Royal arms of France at the top edge, a shield with the arms of Marseille to the left of Oliva's inscription, and a shield with the arms of St. George over England's landmass. At the center of France's landmass can be seen a view of Marseille, under an armored figure with shield and sword (of a French sovereign, likely King Louis XIII ) with “Reide Fracia” (King of France) in manuscript.

Sotheby's, New York, Fine Books and Manuscripts, May 22, 1985, Sale 5330, Lot 122