Fool’s Cap World Map - 1590. (World Map In Color)
If you like maps with a bit of dark humor, this one is perfect. The whole world is drawn inside the head of a court jester, printed on warm parchment style paper so it feels like something you might find in an old cabinet or a study full of old books.
About this mapThis print is based on the famous Fool’s Cap Map of the World, an engraving from the late 1500s made by an unknown artist. The geography follows Abraham Ortelius’s world map from his Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, which helps date it to after 1587. The jester’s cap and staff turn the map into a visual joke about human pride and foolishness, with Latin sayings like “Nosce te ipsum” (know yourself) and “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” scattered around the sheet. The idea likely grew out of an earlier woodcut by Jean de Gourmant, where a similar oval world map was framed by a fool’s hood.
Craft & finishThis 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 and works well as calm wall art in home decor, but colors can look slightly different from screen to screen.
Find more prints like this in our Antique Maps collection.
Fool’s Cap World Map (1590.) - Antique World Map
CARE INSTRUCTIONS:
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.
MORE ABOUT OUR REPLICAS:
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
