Kaart van de Wormer en Engewormer in de vorm van een vogel, 1625 1625

This is an anonymous map from 1625, titled "Kaart van de Wormer en Engewormer in de vorm van een vogel", rendered in ink. The visual structure of this map immediately draws us into a world where cartography meets imagination. The overall composition is dominated by the shape of the Wormer region, ingeniously crafted into the form of a bird. The use of line is particularly striking. Fine, precise lines delineate the waterways, fields, and settlements, creating a detailed and intricate network. These structured lines suggest a carefully ordered world, reflective of the period’s impulse to categorize and control nature through scientific means. The bird-shape of the region can be read as a semiotic sign, symbolizing freedom. Note how this formal choice, a bird, destabilizes the traditional understanding of maps as purely objective tools. It infuses the landscape with a sense of vitality, turning geography into a form of art. The map, therefore, operates on multiple levels, functioning both as a practical tool and as a symbolic representation. This intertwining of the practical and the symbolic speaks to broader philosophical concerns about how we perceive and represent the world around us.