Ravins de Batou-Ganton, pres d’Amboine. (Moluques.)

Title

Ravins de Batou-Ganton, pres d’Amboine. (Moluques.)

Description

View shows the Batou Ganton Gorge of Ambon, an Indonesian island of the Moluccas. After Sainson, edited by J. Tastu.

ca. 1850

Artist

Lemercier (1803-1887)

Huge Parisian firm of lithographic printers founded by Joseph Rose Lemercier (1803-1887), who began as the foreman for Langlumé in 1825. Working on his own account from 1827, 1829-36 in partnership with Bénard association formed in 1837 according to IFF catalogue for Joseph Lemercier. The firm was still active in 1841.

Historical Description

The Maluku Islands are an archipelago within Banda Sea, Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located east of Sulawesi, west of New Guinea, and north and east of Timor. The islands were known as the Spice Islands due to the nutmeg, mace and cloves that were originally exclusively found there, the presence of which sparked colonial interest from Europe in the 16th century. The Maluku Islands formed a single province from Indonesian independence until 1999, when it was split into two provinces. A new province, North Maluku, incorporates the area between Morotai and Sula, with the arc of islands from Buru and Seram to Wetar remaining within the existing Maluku Province.