The Oldest Map in the National Library Collection

Name: Undecima Asiae Tabula (from Geographia)
Year: 1478
Map maker: Arnold Buckinck
Type: Copper Engraving

Picture Source: National Library of Singapore

This 1478 map is the oldest item in Singapore's National Library Collection.

You can now take a look at this map, which is prominently showcased in the Land of Gold and Spice Map exhibition. It was part of a lot acquired at a Sotheby's auction in May 2012.

The map's name is Undecima Asiae Tabula or Asia Table No. 11 from Ptolemy's Geographia.

Claudius Ptolemy (90-168 A.D) from Alexandra, Egypt was at one time in charge of Alexandra's legendary Library. One of his major written works was Geographia. Geographia is about map making principles and methods and tables, with locations (latitude and longtitude in degrees and minutes) of over eight thousand places [1]. 

His work, after passing through the Islamic and Byzantium civilizations (where it was revised with information added) over the successive centuries, appeared in Europe in the early 15th century. Geographia then dominated map making for more than a century until the latest details of the Portuguese (and other subsequent European) exploration voyages rendered Geographia obsolete.

It is not known if Ptolemy had any maps in his original Geographia. In any case, renaissance scholars managed to reconstitute a series of maps from the tables of locations compiled in Geographia. 

With the printing press invented barely twenty years before, the first edition of Geographia with the reconstituted maps was published in Rome in 1477 [2], thereby becoming the first ever printed atlas of the world [3]. The map here is from the second edition published in 1478. The work of creating these first ever printed versions of Geographia was started by Conrad Swehnheym, but was finally completed by Arnold Buckinck after Swehnheym's death.  

The series of maps contain twelve maps on Asia, in which the eleventh map (hence the name Undecima Asiae Tabula) depicts India beyond the Ganges River (INDIA EXTRA GANGEM) and China (SINA). One other geographical feature, that of a peninsula, is of interest to us.

The peninsula is labeled AUREA CHERSONESUS which means the Golden Peninsula, and is typically acknowledged to be the Malay Peninsula [1].  If we look at the southern tip of AUREA CHERSONESUS, we can see SABANA EMPORIUM (Emporium means trading post). Now, if AUREA CHERSONESUS is indeed the Malay Peninsula, then it will be tempting to say that SABANA EMPORIUM is Singapore. 

However, there is nothing to prove that SABANA EMPORIUM is indeed Singapore. The fact is that it could be any number of places on the coast of the Malay Peninsula or the islands of the Riau Archipelago [1]. Speculations of the location of Sabana include Sabak Bernam, in Selangor, Kundur Island in the Riau Archipelago and Sabana River Sungei Sebina, a tributary of Johor River. Until some Roman era artifacts are found in Singapore, or any of the other locations, we will never know for sure.

References
[1] P. Wheatley, The Golden Khersonese (University of Malaya Press, Kuala Lumpur, 1961). Chap. X.
[2] T. Suarez, Early Mapping of Southeast Asia (Periplus, Singapore, 1999). p. 82
[3] Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc. accessed 20150215.