As Apollo has recently explored, historical maps are greatly sought-after by collectors. But most of these maps have charted land and sea. The Warburg Institute is turning its focus to attempts to map the sky, something civilisations around the world have done for thousands of years (21 October–17 April 2027). Most of the maps here are from the private Sunderland Collection, which contains cartographic objects that range mostly from the 13th to the 19th century, as well as some older objects too: viewers will have a chance to see a 4,000-year-old engraved stone cosmogram from what is now Ecuador and an illustrated manuscript by the French cosmologist William of Conches. Other highlights include the first printed edition of Ptolemy’s Almagest and a post-Mercator map featuring allegorical characters and creatures – one of the inspirations for Milton’s Paradise Lost. A final section comprises contemporary maps and video works that show the close relationship between maps and surveillance.
Find out more from the Warburg Institute’s website.
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