A map of Flanders after the Neapolitan artist Pirro Ligorio (1512-1583), who worked under Popes Paul IV and Pius IV. He started to make maps in the late 1550s as a result of his archaeological explorations, which gave him geographical experience.

“The geography of the map comes directly from Boileau, who had published a map of Belgium in Antwerp the previous year. Tramezini had close business connections with Holland, and might easily have obtained a copy; but as Tooley points out, the Ligorio map corresponds most closely with an anonymous Italian copy of Boileau’s map. This copy, like Boileau’s original, is oriented with south at the top” (Karrow).

Rare we are unable to trace an original coloured example of the map appearing on the market in the last 40 years.