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Catalonia Atlas 1375

F2. Maritime Culture, Heritage, Archaeology, Art and Museums

Definition

Majorcan portolan-style chart by Abraham Cresques.

The Catalan Atlas, a Majorcan world map of around 1375 attributed to Abraham Cresques of Palma, drawn on six vellum leaves and now held at the Bibliotheque nationale de France (Espagnol 30). It combines a portolan-style chart of the Mediterranean and Black Sea, with rhumb lines and a wind rose, alongside a mappa mundi reaching to China. It depicts Mansa Musa of Mali holding a gold nugget and is among the finest surviving Majorcan cartographic works.

Source: Catalan Atlas, c.1375, attributed to Abraham Cresques; Bibliotheque nationale de France, MS Espagnol 30.