Moscauw

Incisione originale su rame (cm. 49x35,5 più ampi margini) dalla celebre e monumentale opera ‘Civitates Orbis Terrarum’ pubblicata tra il 1572 ed il 1617. Testo in lingua latina la verso. Bella coloritura antica all’acquarello. Carta vergellata con filigrana. Esemplare in ottimo stato di conservazione. Based on Sigismund von Herberstein’s own 1547 map, it shows the city of Moscow from a slightly elevated viewpoint across the frozen Moskva River. The walled centre of the city is depicted with its many churches and rows of houses, and filled with people and horse-drawn sleighs, others of which are shown, along with skiers, on the river to the right. In the top left corner is the nicely adorned coat of arms of the city. In the foreground are depicted four armed Russian soldiers on horseback. The German caption above them indicates they are wearing the typical “Moscovite war armament”. These graphically reflect the growing military power of Moscow under Grand Duke Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible), who was the first to assume the title of Tsar of Russia and who established the city as the capital of the Grand Duchy of Russia in 1547, not long before this image was made. Next to the soldiers appear two types of cattle, typical for the region. The first one is the European bison and the right one the auroch, an extinct type of large wild cattle that inhabited Europe, Asia and North Africa.