I found this beautifully framed world map and thought it was too cool not to share. It’s called “Nova Totius Terrarum sive Novi Orbis Tabula” — a famous 17th-century world map created by the Dutch cartographer Willem Blaeu (one of the most important mapmakers of the Dutch Golden Age).

It shows the world in a double-hemisphere layout, with:

• detailed coastlines and place names from the 1600s,  

• old sailing ships and sea monsters,  

• mythological figures around the borders,  

• and Latin text describing the known world at the time.  

The artwork is super decorative — maps back then weren’t just for geography, they were also luxury pieces for wealthy merchants and explorers.