Map of the Ottoman Empire in its European parts, captioned i - Lot 249

Map of the Ottoman Empire in its European parts, captioned in Armenian, 1791 Enhanced engraving, printed by the Mekhitarist Fathers of Saint Lazarus, Venice (not Moscow, as erroneously indicated in some modern entries), 1791. 52.8 x 35 cm (the sheet), 41.7 x 25.3 cm (the bowl) Framed under glass. The Armenian title is: Աշխարհացոյց Օսմանեան տերութեան որ ի յեւրոպայ այլև փոքր թաթարաց մասին անատոլիոյ մաճառստանայ մասին լեհաց և մասին մօսկօֆա (The Ottoman Empire, which also includes some Tatars, Anatolians, Hungarians, Poles and Muscovites in Europe). According to Parsegh Sargsyan, Deux siècles d'activité littéraire des éminentes figures de la Congrégation mékhitariste de Venise (Երկհարիւրամեայ գրական գործունեութիւն նշանաւոր գործիչներ Վենետկոյ Մխիթարեան միաբանութեան), Venice, 1906, the map was engraved by Yeghia Entazyan at the Imprimerie des Mékhitaristes in Saint-Lazare. According to Sahag Djendjémian, Une école de cartographie à Saint-Lazare au XVIIIE siècle (Քարտիսագրութեան դպրոց մը Սուրբ Ղազարու մէջ ԺԸ դարուն), Venice, 1981, the engraver is said to be the Italian Alessandrini, a collaborator of the monastery. This map, produced in the context of 18th-century scientific and cartographic production by Mekhitarists, bears witness to the penetration of European geographical knowledge into Armenian culture. It belongs to the series of early Armenian maps printed in Venice and is an extremely rare item. An exceptionally rare copy on the market.