Partium Regni Sclavoniae et Croatiae
Geographical-historical map of the northwest region of Croatia in 1673
Zagreb, North-West Croatia, Croatia
Metropolitan Library, Valvasor Collection of prints and drawings
Johann Weichard Valvasor
Archdiocese of Zagreb
1673
Stjepan Glavač (1627, Varaždin-1680, Trnava)
VZ VII, 12
Paper, copperplate, etching, letterpress
Plate: h: 83.3 cm; w: 84.5 cm
From the Johann Weichard Valvasor Collection
Print, map
Croatia
A map depicting the northwest region of Croatia with inscriptions and dates that detail the most important battles against the Ottoman Turks in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries.
There is a letterpress dedication to Martin Borković, Bishop of Zagreb from 1647 until 1667, and to Count Nikola Erdödy. A signature on the bottom right in a cartouche reads “per R.P. STEPHANVM GLAVACH” and “NOVA hactenus ... SCLAVONIAE et CROATIAE ... Confiniumque Descriptio ... Professorem 1673”.
The map is an announcement of the Croatian Counter-Reformation and the beginning of the Baroque style. Made by the Jesuit, Stjepan Glavač the first teacher of logic at Zagreb Jesuit Academy and professor of philosophy, exegesis and controversy at Graz University, its production was the incentive of the Bishop of Zagreb Martin Borković, and the Croatian ban (viceroy) Nikola Erdödy.
The map shows the “remnants of the remnants” of the former Kingdom of Croatia after Ottoman expansion ended. Drawings, made by Glavač while he travelled throughout Croatia accompanied by soldiers and Krajina officers as consultants, decorate the map. The map presents a rare example of decoration in the spirit of the Society of Jesus, shown particularly in the drawings of Mars in armour and the female figures of Fidelitate constanti and Catholica Fide.
A geographical-historical map of northwest Croatia in 1673, it was drawn by the Jesuit Stjepan Glavač, a teacher at the Zagreb Jesuit Academy and at Graz University. Glavač spent several years travelling through dangerous and inaccessible regions of Croatia accompanied by soldiers and Krajina officers who acted as consultants. The map, showing the “remnants of the remnants” of the former Kingdom of Croatia, and decorated solely with Glavač's drawings, is a rare example of decoration in the spirit of the Society of Jesus.
The print is dated.
Purchased in 1690 from Johann Weichard Valvasor by the Archdiocese of Zagreb Baron J. W. Valvasor, a Slovenian polymath and collector, had a museum in his mansion in Bogenšperg. Towards the end of his life, due to financial difficulties, he sold some of his exceptionally valuable holdings. In 1690, the Bishop of Zagreb, Aleksandar Mikulić, purchased Valvasor’s collection of prints and his library.
Marković, M., Descriptio Croatiae. Hrvatske zemlje na geografskim kartama od najstarijih vremena do pojave prvih topografskih karata (Croatian lands on Geographical Maps from the Oldest Times to the Appearance of the First Topographical Maps), Zagreb, 1993.
Pelc, M., Iconotheca Valvasoriana, VII. svezak, Janez Vajkard Valvasor Foundation, Zagreb Archdiocese, Ljubljana, 2004.
Mirna Abaffy, Nela Tarbuk "Partium Regni Sclavoniae et Croatiae" in "Discover Baroque Art", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://baroqueart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;BAR;hr;Mus11_A;1;en
Prepared by: Mirna Abaffy, Nela Tarbuk Nela Tarbuk
SURNAME: Tarbuk
NAME: Nela
AFFILIATION: Museum of Arts and Crafts, Zagreb, Croatia
TITLE: Museum Counsellor, Head of the Sacral Sculpture, Ivory and Musical
Instrument Collections
CV:
Nela Tarbuk was awarded her BA in Art History and Comparative Literature from Zagreb University (Faculty of Philosophy). As head of the Museum if Arts and Craft’s Sculpture, Ivory and Musical Instruments collections, she has curated several exhibitions and written many articles. Her special research interests focus on sacral furniture. Exhibition catalogues include Culture of the Paulines in Croatia (1989), Jesuit Heritage in Croatia (1992), Peace and Virtue (2000), Hidden Treasures (2005) and Musical Instruments from the Holdings of the Museum of Arts and Crafts (2007).
Translation by: Nikolina Jovanović
Translation copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez
Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.
True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.
MWNF Working Number: HR 01
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