New Issue of ‘manuscript cultures’ on Colour Meets MapExhibition catalogue now available

20 September 2021, by Webmaster

Photo: CSMC

The exhibition catalogue 'Colour Meets Map' has been published as issue 16 of 'manuscript cultures'. The culture-comparative study provides a foundation for understanding a thus far underexplored topic: the central meaning of colour in maps and mapping.

At first glance, colours on maps fulfil a secondary function: they make their appearance more pleasing, serve as decoration, and facilitate orientation. For a long time, the view that colours were only a complementary aspect on maps remained unchallenged.

At second glance, the meaning of colour on maps turns out to be much more profound. On the one hand, a comparative perspective reveals remarkable differences between colouring techniques in different cultural areas, which in turn allow insights about underlying worldviews and strategic interests. On the other hand, the material-scientific analysis of colours on maps enables an informed discussion of research questions about the origin, composition and processing of colourants, their uses according to specific regions and the intended effect, and the particulars of printing techniques, traditions, innovations and trade.

By raising these questions and addressing them with approaches from both the humanities and natural sciences, the project ‘Colour Meets Map’ has moved into scientifically uncharted territory. ‘The importance of “Colour Meets Map” is that colour is treated as integral to maps and mapping', writes Matthew H. Edney in his essay ‘Colour Matters’ in this volume. ‘Its cross-cultural comparison, of early modern maps made in Europe and East Asia, forces us to think carefully about the differences and (apparent) similarities to ask why the maps were coloured the way they were. (...) The key information about the inorganic minerals used in the maps sets a baseline for further consideration of the local availability of pigments, the global trade in pigments especially with the growth of European empires, and the shaping of mapping practices.'

The results of this project are now available in the exhibition catalogue, which has been published as the 16th edition of 'manuscript cultures' (mc). Like all previous issues in the series, it is open-access and can be downloaded from our website; the printed version can be ordered from CSMC. The exhibition ‘Colour Meets Map’ at the Museum am Rothenbaum – Kulturen und Künste der Welt (MARKK) is open until 30 January 2022. In addition to the CSMC, the Mineralogisches Museum des Centrums für Naturkunde (Mineralogical Museum of the Centre of Natural History) (CeNak), the Stiftung Hanseatisches Wirtschaftsarchiv (Hanseatic Business Archive Foundation), and the Commerzbibliothek der Handelskammer (Library of Commerce at the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce) were also involved in the exhibition. The project was funded by Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (Federal Ministry of Education and Research).