Antique Map of the Islands near Ceylon by Baldaeus (1672)

Description: Antique print, untitled. This original antique print shows the islands Leyden, Middelburg, Hammenhiel, Bramines, Dona Clara and Deserta near Ceylon / Sri Lanka, with their Dutch names. Dutch text on verso. Originates from 'Naauwkeurige Beschryvinge van Malabar en Choromandel…en het machtige Eyland Ceylon' by Philippus Baldaeus, published in The Netherlands 1672.

Artists and Engravers: Author: Philip Baldaeus (1632-1672). Father Philippus Baldaeus, Baelde or Philip Balde (October 1632, Delft - 1672, Geervliet) was a Dutch minister. He went to Jaffna, Ceylon with an invading Dutch force during 17th Century. As the first European he documented the life, language and culture of Tamil people, living in the north of the island. It is a great historical record, similar to Mahawamsa, and it was immediately published in Dutch and German (with many beautiful plates).