Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Maritime Map of the Mediterranean
Author Mecià de Viladestes Spanish
Not on view
Ancient Mali’s leader Mansa Musa (reigned ca. 1312–37) became renowned internationally following his lavish 1324 pilgrimage to Mecca, or hajj. He was subsequently portrayed on the most advanced maps of the day produced by the Majorcan cartographic school. Such highly detailed nautical charts, which incorporated firsthand information from mariners and merchants, remain impressively accurate even by contemporary standards. Mecià de Viladestes applied methods for plotting vast maritime expanses to the desert landscape. Among the select protagonists featured is Mansa Musa, shown enthroned in the lower left, wearing a crown and holding both a scepter and a nugget of gold.
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