VISSCHER, Claes Janszoon (1587–1652) — *Haec Tabula Nova Poloniae et Silesiae*. Amsterdam, 1633.

VISSCHER, Claes Janszoon (1587–1652) — *Haec Tabula Nova Poloniae et Silesiae*. Amsterdam, 1633.

Hand-colored copperplate engraving from the period, on paper, 467 × 530 mm, on a sheet measuring 530 × 565 mm. Blank reverse. Conservation work on the upper and lower margins of the map. Map mounted in a frame. Engraved by Abraham Goos. Second state according to *Imago Poloniae*; third state according to Schilder.

A striking map of Poland and Silesia, published in Amsterdam by Claes Janszoon Visscher, whose name, in its Latinized form Nicolaus Joannes Piscator, appears in the title cartouche. One of three famous “carte-à-figure” maps of Poland, alongside those by John Speed and Jodokus Hondius.

The map is surrounded on all four sides by a richly decorated border. In its upper part, panoramic views of Kraków and Gdańsk are placed on either side of the title cartouche, and in the corners are portrait medallions of the Polish kings Sigismund III Vasa and Stefan Batory. On the sides are figures in regional costumes: a Polish noblewoman, a Polish man, a Polish nobleman, a Polish woman, a bride from Silesia, a Silesian woman, and a girl from Gdańsk; between them are the heraldic cartouches Insigne Poloniae (Coat of Arms of Poland) and Insigne Silesiae (Coat of Arms of Silesia). The lower part of the frame features views of Poznań, Krosno, Sandomierz, and Wrocław, a printed gallery of Polish kings, and, in the outer corners, portrait medallions of Sigismund II Augustus and Henry II. The map depicts the Kingdom of Poland and the Duchy of Silesia in accordance with the Mercator and Hondius projection, featuring numerous names of towns, rivers, and forests; individual regions are distinguished by colored outlines.

One of the most striking cartographic representations of 17th-century Poland and a characteristic example of a carte-à-figure, combining a detailed cartographic depiction with elaborate iconographic decoration.

Imago Poloniae, K79/2; Schilder, vol. VI, 98.3.