Antique Map, 1596, America Sive Novus Orbis Cloth Placemat

Vintage illustration antique world map featuring the Americas, 1596 by cartographer Theodorus de Bry (1528-1598). Theodore de Bry’s 1596 map, America sive Novus Orbis, America or the New World, identifies North America as “America Mexicana” and South America as “America Peruana.” These geographical names reflect the late sixteenth-century dominance of Spanish power in the Americas. Also featured are the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and Antarctica in the southern hemisphere. People surround the map, presumably four explorers reading maps to help the ships navigate and safely travel the seas.