History and Culture: The XIV-XVIII century’s maps of the Caspian Sea and rare books presented at "The discovery of the Caspian Sea" exhibition in Astrakhan

"The discovery of the Caspian Sea" exhibition opened in engravings studio of Astrakhan State Art Gallery named after P. M. Dogadin, offering viewers the XIV-XVIII century’s maps, the XVIII-XIX century’s engravings with Astrakhan sights and the rare books from the private collection of Marianna Sergeeva (Astrakhan - Moscow).

Besides the individual gathering preferences the collection of Marianna Sergeeva through the maps of the Caspian Sea and nearby territories refers to the history and ethnography, to a level of development of exact sciences and the art style of the epoch, as well as the strategic interests of many countries beyond the region.

Carefully executed, comprising a plurality of fine details, exquisitely illuminated, old maps from the collection of Marianna Sergeeva are also the sources of information about the level of cartography and the graphic masterpieces of XIV-XVIII centuries. An exhibiting of the maps of the Caspian Sea in Astrakhan, which is historically the gateway to Asia, now gains a superior relevance.

Exhibition project composed as a historical and geographical monograph on the theme of "the discovery of the Caspian Sea" by the travelers, cartographers, researchers and engraving artists for five centuries. Among the exhibits is the set of 17 collectible cards, including works by famous scientists and cartographers as Mercator (1512-1594), Ortelius (1528-1598), Bunting (1545-1606), Rossi (1527-1691) and Gessel (1581-1632). A copy of Catalan Atlas - a famous Portolan chart of XIV century - is one of the rare pieces of exposition. The exhibition is of great scientific and acdemical interest to researchers of the Volga-Caspian basin, geographers, historians, local lore researchers, and the general public.