1599 Contrafantung der Insel Baln. XXXIII

This antique map is XXXIII in his series on the city-sultanate Bantam in Java, located across the straits from Sumatra. The engraving depicts the island of Bali in the late sixteenth century. Known geophysical features are depicted as are a number of major fortifications along one side of the island. Also shown are palaces of the king of Bali, numbering three in all. Insets in a decorative cartouche in the upper right quadrant show the construction of the fortifications and the palaces.Theodore de Bry started his professional career as an engraver, during the three years he lived in London. He became acquainted with the geographer Richard Hakluyt, whose stories of expeditions to exotic foreign lands engendered in de Bry a desire to make the discoveries known to a wider reading public. Most of his books were based on first-hand accounts by the explorers themselves.