This Iceland map has long been one of the more popular of those found in the great Ortelius Theatrum. This example comes from a 1603 Latin edition of the atlas sold at Sotheby’s for £155,000, but the map almost always makes a good price when offered on its own. In an Arader Galleries (22% buyer’s premium) sale of October 28 an example in period colour from an earlier, 1592 Latin edition made $12,500 (£9500).
Featuring both real and mythical creatures, including a monstrous selection of denizens of the deep, this map of Iceland with its mountains, fjords, rivers, glaciers and a volcano is one of the more famous found in Ortelius’ Theatrum orbis terrarum.
In this instance it comes from a 1603, Latin text edition of the atlas, issued in Antwerp by JB Vrients, that made a far higher than suggested £155,000 at Sotheby’s (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) on November 2.