A Portolano, containing thirty-five charts, on a plane scale, executed by different Venetian artists between 1489 and 1492, known as the 'Cornaro Atlas'.
Published
- 1489-1492
Physical description
Ms. On vellum; in Folio, each chart 1 f. 9 in. x 1 f. 4 in
Local notes
- folio
Notes
- It formerly belonged to the Cornaro family of Venice, and has a book plate on the first leaf with their arms, viz.:-- Quarterly of Jerusalem, Lusignan of Cyprus, Armenia, and Luxembourg, impaling the ancient coast of Cornaro. It afterwards belonged to the library of St. Mark's at Venice, and is described at great length by Cardinal Placido Zurla. Di Marco Polo e degli altri viaggiatori Veneziani più illustri Dissertazioni. Venezia, 1818, tom. ii. pp. 353-358. It was brought to England by M. Vendra mini, and was purchased for the British Museum at the sale of the Rev. C. Yonge's Library, 1 March, 1832.
- A full description of this volume is given by M. D'Avezac, in his "Note sur un Atlas Hydrographique manuscrit, executé à Venise dans le XVe siècle, et conservé aujourd'hui au Musée Britannique." 8vo, Paris, 1850.
- The volume contains: 1. A table of lunar revolutions.
- 2. A table of moveable feasts from the year 1489 to the year 1600 inclusive.
- 3. Chart of the Black Sea and the eastern half of the Mediterranean, by Piero Roseli.
- 4. Chart of the Mediterranean west of Tunis, part of the north-west coast of Africa, with the western coast of Europe, and the coasts of England and Ireland; apparently the complement of No. 3.
- 5. Chart of the Black Sea and the eastern half of the Mediterranean, by Zuan da Napoli.
- 6. Chart of the western half of the Mediterranean, the western coast of Europe, with England, Scotland, and Ireland; probably the complement of the preceding.
- 7. Chart of the Black Sea and the eastern half of the Mediterranean, by Gracioxo Benincaxa.
- 8. Chart of the western half of the Mediterranean, and the western coast of Europe, with part of England and Ireland; probably the complement of the preceding.
- 9. Two charts of the Black Sea, with variations, by Francesco Becaro.
- 10. Chart of the Black Sea and the eastern half of the Mediterranean.
- 11. Chart of the western half of the Mediterranean, and the western coast of Europe, with part of England and Ireland; probably the complement of the preceding.
- 12. Chart of the Black Sea, the Archipelago, and the Mediterranean east of Cape Rasat, by Nicolò Fiorin.
- 13. Chart of the Mediterranean west of Cerigo, nearly to the Straits; apparently in continuation of No. 12.
- 14. Chart of the coasts of Ireland, England, France, Portugal, and the Straits, with the Azores and Madeira; apparently the complement of Nos. 12 and 13.
- 15. Duplicate inverted charts of the Adriatic Sea, with Corfu and the Gulf of Taranto, by Francesco Cexano.
- 16. Chart of the Adriatic, the Ionian Isles, the western coast of Italy, with Sicily and Corsica, by Zuan Soligo.
- 17. Chart of the Black Sea, by Alvixe Cexano.
- 18. Chart of the Sea of Marmora, the Archipelago, and the Mediterranean east of the Morea, with Cyprus on a larger scale; probably by the same.
- 19. Chart of the Mediterranean, including the eastern half of Crete, by Domenego Dezane.
- 20. Chart of the coast of Asia Minor west of Cape Helidonia, the Sea of Marmora, the Archipelago, with Crete, the Morea, the coast of Epirus southward of Cape Linguetta, and the Ionian Isles.
- 21. Chart of the Mediterranean, including the eastern half of Crete, by Gracioxo Benincaxa.
- 22. Chart of the coast of Asia Minor west of the gulf of Adalia, the Sea of Marmora, the Archipelago with Crete, the Morea, the coast of Epirus southward of Port Panormus, and the Ionian Isles; apparently by the same.
- 23. Chart of the coast of Asia Minor west of Rhodes, the Sea of Marmora, the Archipelago with Crete, and the Morea, by Nicoló de Pasqualin.
- 24. Chart of the same, but not including the western coast of the Morea. It is inscribed, "Beneditus Pesina fecit ano Domini M.CCCCLXXXVIIII. Veneciis".
- 25. Chart of the western half of the Morea, the Adriatic Sea, Sicily, the western coast of Italy south of the Arno, with the corresponding coast of Africa. It is inscribed, "Conpimento del Cexano;" being perhaps the complement of the three following charts, which, however, do not bear a name.
- 26. Chart of the Mediterranean, from Tripoli and Terracina on the east, to Carthagena and the Gulf of Tremezen on the west.
- 27. Chart of the Mediterranean westward of Minorca, with the western coast of Spain and Portugal as far as La Coruña, and part of the coast of Morocco.
- 28. Chart of the western coast of Europe, from Lisbon to the Texel, with the coast of England and the south-eastern coast of Ireland.
- 29. A chart, intitled "Ponente Boscaino," Cardinal Zurla erroneously supposed this to be the name of the author containing the coasts of Great Britain and the western coast of Europe, with the Straits and part of the coast of Morocco.
- 30. Chart of the western coast of Africa northward of Cape Verd, with the Cape Verd Islands and the Azores, and the western coast of Spain and Portugal, by Cristofalo Soligo.
- 31. Chart intituled, "Ginea Portogalexe," being the same with the preceding, but having the coast of Africa as far south as the Gold Coast.
- 32. Chart of the coast of Africa and Guinea from Cape Roxos southward to Cape St. Catharine.
- 33. Chart of the coast of Africa from Cape Formoso southward to Cape Negro; and another of the Caspian Sea, intitled "Mar Dabacu".
- 34. A blank sheet prepared for mapping, and ornamented in the same manner as the rest, but not filled up.
- 35. Chart of the Black Sea; and another of the Archipelago and the eastern part of the Mediterranean.
- 36. General chart of the coasts of Europe, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, and the western coast of Africa southward to Cape Negro.
- 37. Chart of the German Ocean and the Baltic.
- 38. A pictured map of the Holy Land, very beautifully executed, intitled "Descriptio totius Terre Sancte, quam posiderunt filii Israhel; vocatur etiam Terra Promisionis".
- Then follow in the Venetian dialect, a. A treatises, etc., which agree, in great measure, with the description given by the Abate Morelli, of a work composed by Pietro da Versi, a Venetian, in 1444. See his note on the Lettera rorissima of Columbus, Bassano, 1810, p. 40, (quoted by Cardinal Zurla, Di Marco Polo Dissertazioni, 1818, tom. ii. p. 342.) a. A treatise on the influence of the planets on the different parts of the human body, on the motion of the sun and moon, on eclipses, on the times of Easter-day, on lucky and unlucky days, on the mode of finding the Dominical letter by the fingers, etc., illustrated by diagrams. fol. 39.
- b. "La Raxom del Marteloio." A treatise upon the mode of sailing by the plane chart, or rhomb lines, as practised by the early Venetian voyagers. fol. 47. b.
- c. "Hordeni e chomandamenti de tuti li capetanji zeneralli de tute le galie eseno fuora da Veniexia, li quali sono oservi da tuti li patronj e sora chomiti de galie," etc., issued by Andrea Mocenigo, captain-general in 1428. fol. 48.
- d. "Questi sono li ordeni e chomandamenti de tuti li capitanji de tute le nave armade eseno fuora del porto de Veniexia, per la inlustrisima Signoria de Veniexia." fol. 49. b.
- e "Queste sono le spexe se fano per li capetanji de le gallie de Fiandra, per tute le schalle chelle vano." fol. 50. b.
- f. Rules for finding the times of the new moons, etc. fol. 52.
- g. The mode of finding the heights of buildings. fol. 55.
- h. "Tariffa de diversi pexi del mondo, chomo se governa uno con laltro persimel, per simel la tariffa di Allexanadria de tutte specie e marchadamtie che entra e che ensse." fol. 59.
- i. Rules for making sails of different kinds. fol. 63. b.
- k. A written Portolano, in four parts, containing:-- i. The ports of the Mediterranean. fol. 67. At the end is, "Qua compie tute le staree del mar mediterano, etc.".
- ii. The ports of the western part of the Mediterranean. fol. 74.
- iii. "Questa si sono una altra starea comenzando da Bocolli per tuta quela r[i]viera fino a capo Santa Maria, zoe cavo de Otrantoe tochera anche de la Corsega." fol. 77.
- iv. "Qui comenza el Ponente comenzanza da la costa de Bertagna in ver lo mar de Fiandra, e chusi venenedo per la costa de Ingeltera, e trovando tute le suo sonde et traversie, secomdo como vederette a lezerlo." [Imperfect.] fol. 78. b.
- l. A Kalendar, with rules for finding the Dominical letter. fol. 79.
Genre
- cartographic image
Holdings information at British Library
Live circulation data is not available.
| Location of copy | Shelfmark | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| Map Collections, St Pancras Reading Rooms | Egerton MS.73. |
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