Clover Leaf World Map - Heinrich Bünting, 1581.
This is a small 16th century world map drawn in the shape of a clover leaf. Europe, Asia and Africa are colored in soft reds, greens and yellows and sit on a dark patterned sea with tiny ships and sea creatures.

About this map
This print is based on Heinrich Bünting’s famous clover leaf world map, often titled Die ganze Welt in einem Kleberblat, first published in his book Itinerarium Sacrae Scripturae in 1581. Europe, Asia and Africa are turned into three leaves of a clover, each covered with country names and a few small city views. Around the main shape you see extra land masses for England, Scandinavia and the “New World”, placed at the edges of the design to show that parts of the world were still only partly known.
 
The clover form echoes the arms of Bünting’s home city of Hanover and follows the idea of older medieval world maps, where the world is shown more as a symbol than a measured picture. The map was not meant to give exact geography. It was meant to show the “whole world” in one clear image, the same spirit you see in Bünting’s other figurative maps, where Asia becomes a winged horse and Europe is drawn as a crowned woman.
 
Craft & finish
This clover leaf world map print is made on hand processed paper. We add subtle gold by hand and seal the surface with beeswax so it feels close to real parchment when you hold it. The paper catches the light softly, but colors can look a little different from screen to screen.
 
Find more prints like this in our Antique Maps collection.