A New Mappe of the Romane Empire - John Speed, 1626. (Antique Map In Color)
This map gives you a 17th century view of the Roman Empire on one print. The Mediterranean, Italy and the surrounding lands sit on a warm parchment style background, and the city views and figures in costume turn the border into a little picture gallery that looks great next to books, wood and brass in a study or living room.
About this map printThis print is based on A New Mappe Of The Romane Empire, engraved by English mapmaker John Speed in the early 1600s for his historical atlas. The main map shows the Roman Empire at its greatest reach, from Britain and Gaul across Italy and Greece to North Africa and the Near East, with clear coastlines and Latin place names. Along the top border you can see small views of major cities such as Rome, Venice and Constantinople, and down the sides stand people in regional dress, a favourite trick of 17th century mapmakers who wanted to show both the lands and the people who lived there.
If you know Ortelius’s Romani Imperii Imago, this map feels almost like an English reply to it: the basic outline of the Empire is similar, but instead of medallions and family trees, Speed frames his map with city views and costume figures. The busy borders also sit very close in spirit to big baroque world maps like Nova Totius Terrarum Orbis, where geography and illustration are treated as equally important parts of the design.
Craft & finish
This antique map print is made on hand-processed paper, highlighted with subtle gold and sealed with beeswax so it feels like real parchment when you hold it. The surface catches the light softly over the seas and borders, but colors can look slightly different from screen to screen.
Find more prints like this in our Antique Maps collection.
A New Mappe Of The Romane Empire (John Speed, 1626) - Antique Roman Empire Map
In case your print creases during the travel, as it usually does travel for some time, you can safely warm it up with a hair-dryer, and the wax will melt back right into it. You can also use a lighter, which is a much faster method, but be careful to keep the flame either above the paper or parallel to it (which means holding the paper vertically) so it doesn't smudge or even catch fire. The chance of the print actually creasing is very small, as they are rolled in bubble-wrap and shipped in a cardboard box. Also, be sure to keep the print out of the direct sunlight, as it can melt or fade.
Visit the link below to see more about how our replicas are made, how to display them, and repair the damage:
https://www.artifex-replicas.com/post/about-our-parchment-replicas
