More Maps

 

I decided to go back to the map library to search for some more maps that either piqued my interest or had these odd sea creatures on them. What I found were these beautifully decorated and adorned maps, where the focus wasn't really on the map itself but rather the illustrations around the maps. Like with this one where they have these intriguing illustrations of people and animals and what seems to be angels in the skies above. I started to think about why all these maps I was looking at had these illustrations around them, maybe it was some kind of storytelling to do with something in the bible or other religious text or it could be simply to make the map more interesting as I found before mostly these sort of maps were used for decoration rather than actual navigation so is this what the illustrations are for.

I love looking at all these sea creatures that are drawn onto the sea they are so interesting and other worldly that I wonder if they came from real creatures of the sea or are part of a mythical story passed down the ages.

I love these decorative aspects of the maps, like with these faces around the maps acting as a representation of the wind blowing across the sea.