Illustration 1: Overview <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> VOC <strong>chart</strong>
A CARTOGRAPHICAL RARISSIMA OF THE DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY by Pr<strong>of</strong>. Dr. Günter Schilder Chart <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>India</strong>n Ocean with <strong>the</strong> coasts <strong>of</strong> <strong>East</strong> Africa, <strong>the</strong> Arabian Peninsula, Persian Gulf, <strong>India</strong>, South <strong>East</strong> Asia up to <strong>the</strong> western part <strong>of</strong> Java, part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> west coast <strong>of</strong> Australia and <strong>the</strong> islands in <strong>the</strong> <strong>India</strong>n Ocean. Middelburg: Abraham <strong>An</strong>ias, ca. 1730. Manuscript on <strong>vellum</strong> (calf), ink and various colors, c. 62.5 x 84 cm; Duijtsche Mijlen 15 voor een Graedt [100=67 mm] (ill. 1). A strip <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> left and <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> lower margin has been cut <strong>of</strong>f because <strong>the</strong> <strong>chart</strong> has once been used as a bookbinding. Manuscript <strong>chart</strong>s <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Dutch</strong> <strong>East</strong> <strong>India</strong> <strong>Company</strong> (VOC) are very rare. That a <strong>chart</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>India</strong>n Ocean by Abraham <strong>An</strong>ias from <strong>the</strong> VOC Zeeland Chamber appears on <strong>the</strong> market may be considered a truly exceptional event. This is all <strong>the</strong> more remarkable because so many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> VOC’s original <strong>chart</strong>s have ei<strong>the</strong>r been lost or have long formed part <strong>of</strong> various public map collections. Despite being an anonymous <strong>chart</strong>, <strong>the</strong> characteristic depiction <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> compass rose and <strong>the</strong> style <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> drawing and <strong>the</strong> lettering are unique for <strong>the</strong> work <strong>of</strong> Abraham <strong>An</strong>ias (1694-1750), <strong>of</strong>ficial examiner <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> steersmen and <strong>chart</strong>-maker <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Zeeland Chamber <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> VOC (Nederlandse Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, i.e. <strong>Dutch</strong> United <strong>East</strong> <strong>India</strong> <strong>Company</strong>). As pro<strong>of</strong> serves a <strong>chart</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Ari-atol in <strong>the</strong> Maldives Islands, kept in <strong>the</strong> Amsterdam University Library. That map is essential in <strong>the</strong> attribution <strong>of</strong> this <strong>chart</strong> to <strong>the</strong> cartographer, because it combines this compass rose with <strong>the</strong> name <strong>of</strong> Abraham <strong>An</strong>ias (ill. 2). . The Zeeland Chamber was <strong>the</strong> second most <strong>important</strong> chamber in <strong>the</strong> VOC, after <strong>the</strong> Amsterdam Chamber. In 1720 <strong>the</strong> Chamber <strong>of</strong> Zeeland appointed <strong>An</strong>ias as examiner <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir steersmen, a position he held for thirty years until his death in 1750. His instructions that were issued on September 12, 1720 give insight in his responsibilities. . <strong>An</strong>ias’ expertise and cartographical knowledge were highly respected by his contemporaries, as demonstrated by a judgment <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> famous <strong>chart</strong>-maker Johannes (II) van Keulen, who attributed <strong>the</strong> large overview map in <strong>the</strong> fifth part <strong>of</strong> his Zee-Fakkel (Sea-Torch, 1728) to <strong>An</strong>ias ‘tot een teeken van agting’ (‘as a sign <strong>of</strong> high esteem’), (ill. 3). On October 1, 1731 <strong>the</strong> Zeeland Chamber <strong>of</strong>ficially appointed Abraham <strong>An</strong>ias as her <strong>of</strong>ficial <strong>chart</strong>-maker responsible to supply her ships with <strong>chart</strong>s, books and navigational instruments as specified in <strong>the</strong> new equipment list laid down in an <strong>of</strong>ficial resolution by <strong>the</strong> Gentlemen Seventeen (Heren XVII) on March 28, 1731, <strong>the</strong> “Lijste van de Kaarten en Stuurmansgereetschappen”.