Mission of the Moxos, Peru – Antique French Jesuit Map by Portier, c.1790
€ 330
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1790
Sheet size
20 × 16.2 cm (7.9 × 6.4 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14078-14
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Condition report: Good condition with a strong plate mark and clear impression. Light toning and faint foxing, mostly in margins. Slight wear to lower left corner not affecting the image.
About this sheet
The Jesuit missions among the Moxos of the Bolivian lowlands, an original copper engraving by Portier, dated around 1790. The sheet is titled "Mission des Moxes, établie par les PP. de la Compagnie de Jesus, dans le Pérou," and the engraver's credit "Portier Sculp." appears at the lower left of the neat line.
The map shows a stretch of rivers and forest country with the mission villages marked by small circles and lettered in the French form: S. Pierre, S. Louis, S. Borgia, S. Joseph, S. Ignace, La Trinité and the "Exaltation de la S. Croix," among many others. The Mamoré and Beni run down through the center and right of the sheet, with their tributaries traced, and a lake appears at the top. The territories of the peoples of the region are lettered in large capitals across the plain, among them the Chiribas, Mobimas, Chumanos, Rimanos, Tapacuras and Baures. Mountains are drawn in hachured clusters at the left and lower right, and the lower left carries the title cartouche with the words "Partie du Pérou." Compass directions are noted along the edges, and a volume and page reference is printed in the top margin.
The Jesuits had been expelled from Spanish America in 1767, and the Moxos missions, among the most important in the region, continued under other administration.
