This small and rare map of the Maldives has a curious history. Produced in 1702 by German cartographer, Johann Ulrich Muller, it is based on a similar chart published in 1678 by Johan Hoffman, who had previously been Muller's publisher. Hoffman's work itself was based on an original map made in 1660 by the French Geographe du Roi, Pierre Duval. It was featured in Muller's 'Neu aussgeffertigter kleiner Atlas' (New Miniature Atlas) and bears the distinctive features of his collection. For example, it is not coloured, unlike the original, and below it are found a short explanatory paragraph in German and a decorative embellishment, in this case a bouquet of flowers. The text explains that the Maldives are comprised of 13 islands, each of which has four ports, and identifies Male as the principal island.

The map itself presents the named islands and shows longitude and latitude around the border. A small cartouche contains the title, and in the lower left and upper right corners two sailing ships are featured. With European trade routes expanding into the Indian Ocean during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Maldives continually played host to Portuguese, Dutch and French colonialists. The important location of these islands led the Europeans to survey, chart and map them in ever-greater detail. Miniature maps such as this are examples of the early charts out of which the art of hydrography grew in the subsequent centuries. We have been unable to trace another example of this individual map.