Cipre - H. de Beauvau 1615

📜 Description
Rare original map of the island of Cyprus, published in Henri de Beauvau’s *Relation Journalière du Voyage du Levant*, printed in Nancy by Jacob Garnich in 1615. The plate belongs to one of the most significant French works devoted to the Levant during the early seventeenth century and reflects the growing European interest in the Eastern Mediterranean following the end of Venetian rule over the island. The composition presents Cyprus in a concise yet highly distinctive manner, with a clearly engraved coastline, conventionally rendered mountain ranges, settlements, promontories, and numbered locations corresponding to the explanatory key below. The city of Nicosia appears prominently near the centre of the island, while the descriptive French text beneath the map summarizes the principal geographical, agricultural, and historical characteristics of Cyprus, referring to the island’s fertility and to the role of the Venetian Cornaro family in its history. Combining geographical, descriptive, and editorial functions, the work represents an early antique map of Cyprus executed through copperplate engraving and intended for readers interested in travel, geography, and the territories of the Ottoman Levant. The engraved title “Troisieme – Cypre” and page number “88” confirm the map’s inclusion in the original 1615 edition, making it a particularly desirable piece for collectors of early cartography and seventeenth-century travel literature.

📚 Historical Note
Henri de Beauvau (1575–1639), a nobleman of Lorraine, diplomat, and military officer, published his account of travels in the Eastern Mediterranean in 1615. Widely circulated among educated French audiences interested in geography and the Near East, the *Relation du Levant* is regarded as one of the most important French travel narratives relating to the Levant in the early seventeenth century. The maps incorporated into the work, including this depiction of Cyprus, are especially sought after for their rarity and documentary importance, representing some of the most influential French cartographic images of the island produced during the period.

🧾 Technical Details
Type: Original engraved map
Author: Henri de Beauvau
Publisher / Printer: Jacob Garnich
Place of Publication: Nancy, Duchy of Lorraine
Date: 1615
Material: Antique laid paper
Technique: Copperplate engraving (etching and engraving)
Title / Subject: *Cypre* (Cyprus)
Edition: Plate from the original 1615 edition of *Relation Journalière du Voyage du Levant*
Dimensions: Plate mark approximately 16 × 10.5 cm; sheet approximately 23 × 18 cm
Inscriptions: Engraved title “Cypre”; page number “88”; descriptive French text relating to the island of Cyprus

🔍 Condition Report
Good overall condition. Original laid paper with normal signs of age, light scattered oxidation, and minor marginal staining consistent with the period. The impression remains clear and well inked. The left margin is slightly reduced and locally close to the plate mark, without affecting the engraved image, a characteristic compatible with the original binding structure of the source volume. The sheet retains good structural integrity and presents the expected characteristics of an original early seventeenth-century printing.