The map was first published separately as a broadsheet in Naples by Mario Cartaro in 1582 after a work by Antonio Saliba that is known in only one example. Cartaro’s map was later copied by Cornelis de Jode and issued using his north polar projection of the Earth from ‘Hemispheriu Ab Aequinoctiali Linea’ (1593), and was presumably published before his death in 1600, although no known example survives. In fact, de Jode’s map is only known by its later French re-issues. The first was by Paulus de la Houve (1643–1661) who may have acquired the copperplates after de Jode’s death, and only one example is known, in the Royal Library in Brussels. During his lifetime Houve gave the plates to Jean Messager (d. 1649), and only one example with his imprint (c. 1640) is known. Messager later sold his business to Pierre Mariette (1602–1657) in 1637, who reissued the map in about 1650; Gerard Jollain issued an example in Paris in about 1681. Later still, Ambrosius Schevenhuysen (d. 1712) published a version in Haarlem in abut 1700, as here.

The concentric rings around this map symbolise the levels of creation. At the core is Hell in the bowels of the Earth, a burning inferno filled with the writhing agony of condemned souls and the glee of monstrous demons. Moving outwards and upwards towards the surface of the Earth, is the subterranean world with mineral mines, sources of water, including underground rivers and lakes. At the surface is a terrestrial map with windmills and the ocean. These are followed by two rings of celestial phenomena, including storms, rainbows, and the twelve classical wind heads. The penultimate ring depicts the heavens with a zodiac, and notes on the historical appearance of comets. Finally, the outer circle is a ring of fire populated by demons, phoenixes, and salamanders. Outside the main composition are four corner squares with representations and notes on the Sun, the Moon, and their eclipses. Flanking the title are two small insets of the Northern and the Southern Hemispheres.

This striking representation of the cosmos is composed of eight concentric rings of the universe formed on the Aristotelian and Ptolemaic model, which placed the Earth in the centre surrounded by nine spheres for the heavens: the five planets, the Sun, the Moon, the stars, and the ‘primium mobile’. 

The map was originally compiled in 1582 by Antonio Saliba of Malta, a doctor of theology, philosophy, and canon law, and engraved by Mario Cartaro of Naples. Its popularity resulted in numerous reissues including the present copy, published by Ambrosius Schevenhuysen around 1700.

The map was first published separately as a broadsheet in Naples by Mario Cartaro in 1582 after a work by Antonio Saliba that is known in only one example. Surrounding the map is explanatory text in Italian.

The work is based on the Aristotelian and Ptolemaic model for the universe, which placed the Earth in the centre, surrounded by nine spheres for the heavens: the five planets, the Sun, the Moon, the stars, and the ‘primium mobile’. Saliba departed from the classical representation of the Ptolemaic universe by concentrating the planets, the Sun, the Moon, and the stars onto one circle (the penultimate), and by adding the ring of fire, in line with the Renaissance reverence for fire as a purifying tool.

A rare separately-published world map combining metaphysical elements with a geographic map: the Aristotelian and Ptolemaic model for the universe, which placed the Earth in the centre surrounded by nine spheres for the heavens with five planets, the Sun, the Moon, the stars, and the outer sphere which moved around the earth every twenty-four hours, taking the inner spheres with it, known as the 'primium mobile'.

Saliba’s Map of the Cosmos