Kaart van het hertogdom Limburg en het graafschap Valkenburg 1670 - 1710

This is an anonymous map of the duchy of Limburg and the county of Valkenburg, crafted with ink on paper. The composition is strikingly ordered, presenting a network of lines that delineate territories and waterways. The stark contrast between the dark lines and the pale paper creates a visual framework, turning geographical data into an abstract design. This interplay reflects a structuralist approach to cartography, where space is not merely represented but encoded with symbolic meaning through its formal arrangement. Note how the map meticulously catalogs the landscape and simultaneously imposes a structured order upon it. This tension encapsulates a semiotic paradox: while aiming to represent reality, the map inevitably transforms it into a system of signs, each line and symbol laden with cultural and political significance. It invites us to decode the matrix of power and knowledge embedded in its design.