The Museum of Mallorca will exhibit from June a portolan chart from 1447 acquired by the Consell
The document, prepared by the Majorcan cartographer Pere Rossell, will be exhibited to the public from June 26th after the Council has acquired it at Sotheby's in London
PalmaThe Museum of Mallorca received this Wednesday the portolan chart of Pere Rossell dated 1447, one of the most outstanding pieces of medieval Mallorcan cartography, which the Consell de Mallorca acquired in April from the Sotheby's auction house in London.
The work will become part of Mallorcan public heritage and can be visited from June 26, coinciding with the inauguration of a monographic exhibition dedicated to this jewel of medieval cartography. As reported by the Consell in a statement, the exhibition will allow the piece to be contextualized and to delve into the importance of the Mallorcan cartographic school, in addition to the historical, scientific, and artistic value of the chart.
The reception of the work coincides with the week of International Museum Day, a fact that the island institution has described as particularly symbolic. The president of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, has stated that "today is a historic day for Mallorca" because "a unique piece" of the island's cultural and scientific legacy is being recovered.
"The portolan chart represents the talent, knowledge, and international projection that Mallorca had for centuries thanks to the Mallorcan cartographic school," he affirmed. Galmés also remarked that it is "a collective pride" that the work will become part of public heritage. Furthermore, the island president defended that the arrival of the piece "reaffirms the commitment of the Consell de Mallorca to the recovery, protection, and dissemination of the island's historical heritage."
For her part, the vice-president and island councilor of Culture and Heritage, Antònia Roca, described the acquisition as "a heritage milestone of the highest level." "We are talking about an extraordinary work, linked to one of the periods of greatest cultural and scientific splendor of Mallorca, which from now on can be preserved, studied, and shared with all citizens," she pointed out.
Roca also highlighted the coincidence with International Museum Day and recalled that these institutions "custody our collective history." According to her, the portolan chart "will undoubtedly become one of the great treasures of the Museum of Mallorca." The chart was created in 1447 by the Mallorcan cartographer Pere Rossell, one of the prominent figures of the Mallorcan cartographic school, internationally recognized during the Middle Ages for the technical precision and artistic richness of its nautical maps.
