Scarce early Pieter van den Keere map of the Polish region of Silesia, published in Amsterdam in 1621.

The map shows Silesia, bordered by the contemporary polities of Moravia, Bohemia, Lusatia, Brandenburg, and Polonia. At the center of the map is Breslaw (Wrocław), which is also shown in a detailed view-map in the lower-left corner.

This map was published shortly after the beginning of Wrocław's support for the Bohemian Revolt in 1618. This would signal the beginning of a difficult period in the region's history; it would be occupied by Saxon and Swedish troops, and Wrocław would lose almost half its population to the plague.

In the upper right corner of the map is the coat of arms of Silesia, showing a black eagle with a silver crescent on a golden background.

The plate is signed in the lower right "Petrus Kaerius Caleavit et Excu. Amste."

Rarity

Though the map appears in several national library collections, it is quite rare on the market, this being the first example that we have ever offered for sale. We two examples having been offered for sale in Germany, one in 2003 ($1,115) and one in 2007 ($942).