A walrus hunt: a design for the border of the 'Novissima Ac Exactissima Totius Orbis Terrarum'

A design for what was one of the largest and most celebrated world maps published in Amsterdam in the 17th Century. The complete map, engraved by Pieter Serwouters after Vinckboons and published in 1634 by Hendrik Hondius, is in the Bibliothèque nationale, Paris (inv. GE A 34 RES; see Rembrandt's World, p. 34, fig. 2). Drawings for other border scenes are in the Clement C. Moore Collection (Fishermen drawing in their nets; see Rembrandt's World, no. 12), in an American private collection (two illustrated in Kunst in kaart, decoratieve aspecten van de cartografie, exhib. cat., Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, 1989, p. 67) and another one was at Sotheby's, Amsterdam, 8 November 2000, lot 87.

The Hondius map incorporates many illustrations based on prototypes by other artists, including an engraving by Jan Saenredam after Cornelis Ketel (Hollstein 14) and another by Johannes Sadeler after Maerten de Vos (Hollstein 29).