Africae Tabula XII Possibly 1588 - 1889

This is Livio Sanuto's "Africae Tabula XII," made in 1588, a map etched with the aspirations and anxieties of its time. Notice the ships scattered across the ocean—symbols of exploration, trade, and dominion. They recall the ancient Roman "Navis," emblems of power and reach. Yet, here, they represent a more complex narrative. These vessels are not just carriers of goods but also of cultural exchange and, tragically, conquest. The ocean, marked as "Oceanus," evokes the classical idea of the all-encompassing, life-giving sea. However, its depiction here is fraught with the tension of the unknown, hinting at the psychological space between the known and the imagined. The repetition of the ship motif, passed down through history, speaks to our collective memory of maritime ventures, now tinged with a deeper understanding of their consequences. These symbols reflect a cyclical progression: ancient motifs revived and reinterpreted in the age of discovery, their meanings layered with the weight of historical encounter.