Estats de la Couronne de Boheme qui comprennent le Royaume de Boheme… Duché de Silesie.

States of the Crown of Bohemia, comprising the Kingdom of Bohemia… the Duchy of Silesia.

This original antique map is a representation of the territories of the Crown of Bohemia at the beginning of the 18th century. Published in Paris by Hubert Jaillot, the work is based on the cartographic labours of Nicolas Sanson, the royal geographer who revolutionised the discipline in France. The engraving shows in detail the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Duchy of Silesia, the Margraviate of Moravia, Lusatia (Upper and Lower) and the Principality of Teschen.

The piece stands out for its French Baroque style, characterised by clarity in the drawing of the political borders. The map details the orography, the river systems and a dense network of cities and towns that defined the heart of the Holy Roman Empire in this period of transition towards the War of the Spanish Succession. It is a large-format copperplate engraving that exemplifies the technical precision of the French school, which at that moment was displacing the Dutch as the world centre of cartography.

A notable ornamental element is its title cartouche in the upper right corner, flanked by heraldic motifs and allegorical figures that reinforce the political importance of these states under Habsburg rule. This original 1704 map is a fundamental document for the study of the historical geography of the Czech Republic, Poland and eastern Germany.