This is a fine representation of the Cantelli-Rossi map showcasing Northern India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tibet. The map’s title includes a dedication to Jean-Baptiste Tavernier. It covers the northern frontier, reaching up to Cabul, Samarkand, Nupal, Boutan, and Lassa. Notably, the sources of the Indus and Ganges Rivers are accurately depicted on the map.

• Cartographer  :  Engraved by Cantelli da Vignola (1643- 1695)

Cantelli (1643-1695), a geographer and cartographer from Montorsello near Vignola, began his journey in Bologna, where he pursued humanistic studies. In 1669, he became the secretary to Marquis Obizzo da Ferrara before traveling to Venice and eventually Paris. There, he established connections with prominent French geographers of the time, including Du Val, Nicola Sanson, and Michel Antoine Baudrand. 

Cantelli collaborated with the renowned De Rossi cartographic workshop, which published most of his maps. With a growing reputation as a skilled cartographer, Cantelli caught the attention of Pope Innocent XI and the Duke of Modena and Reggio Francesco II d’Este, both of whom sought him as their official cartographer. He chose to work for Francesco II and was appointed court geographer in November 1685. 

Over the following years, he produced numerous maps of European countries and territories. The majority of his maps were featured in the well-known Mercurio Geografico atlas, published in Rome by the De Rossi family.

• Publisher: Giacomo Giovanni Rossi in Rome 1683.

Giacomo Giovanni Rossi (1627-1691) was an Italian engraver and printer. He worked in Rome, the heir to an important printing business founded by his father, Giuseppe de Rossi (1570-1639). Giuseppe began the press in 1633 and Giovanni and his brother, Giandomenico (1619-1653) took it over upon his death. The brothers expanded the business and by the mid-seventeenth century it was the best-known printing house in Rome.

For his maps, Giovanni worked with Giacomo Cantelli da Vignola. They produced the Atlas Mercurio Geografico. The first edition is undated, but the second was issued in 1692, a year after Giovanni’s death. The maps were by Cantelli. The firm also published maps based on those of Nicolas Sanson.

Later, the business passed to Lorenzo Filippo. By 1738, the firm was known as Calcografia Camerale, then, from 1870 to 1945, as the Regia Calcografica. Today, the firm is still in business and is called Calcografia Nazionale. It operates as a free museum and offers one of the best collections of prints and plates in the world.