Coronelli’s Engraving of the Floating Court of the King of Siam

CORONELLI, Vincenzo.

“Balon del Ré di Siam” and “Ballon de’ Nobili di Siam” [“Barge of the King of Siam” and “Barge of the Nobles of Siam”].

Venice, Vincenzo Coronelli, 1690.

Engraved sheet (49.7 x 35 cm, plate mark of frame 43.4 x 27 cm, platemark of upper image 12.8 x 17.2 cm, platemark of lower image 13.3 x 17.5 cm). Two black and white copper engravings on one leaf. Printed with three separate copper plates, one for each image and one for the frame of alternating lilies and scallops, symbols of the Farnese family, his patron. Old paper reinforcement on left margin. Generally excellent.

hese two images originally appeared in Coronelli’s Atlante Veneto, nel quale si contiene la descrittione geografica, storica, sacra, profana, e politica, degl’ universo, published in Venice in 1690.        

The upper engraving depicts the splendor of the royal barge of the King of Siam (modern day Thailand). The vessel is exceptionally well-appointed, characterized by its sheer scale and its crew, which includes several oarsmen and a helmsman stationed prominently above the waterline to navigate the vessel. The king sits in an ornate cabin that towers above. The lower engraving depicts a Siamese nobleman’s barge, intricately carved and ornamented, with two figures seated in a small cabin at the center.

Vincenzo Maria Coronelli (1650–1718) was a Franciscan friar and the official cosmographer to the Venetian Republic. He is best remembered for founding the world’s first geographical society and for constructing monumental globes for Louis XIV, as well as his masterwork atlas, the Atlante Veneto.

Price: $375.00