This seventeenth-century celestial globe was issued by the famous cartographer Willem Janszoon Blaeu. On the globe, the signs of the zodiac, such as Cancer and Leo, are clearly recognisable. But what is a large ship doing on this celestial globe? It is Argo Navis, or Ship Argo. This name was given to the constellation in ancient times by Ptolemy. He derived the name from the myth of Jason and the Argonauts. Argo Navis can be seen in the southern night sky. A VOC ship of the time also bore this name, which is why Blaeu depicted the constellation as this ship.
A globe made of papier-mâché, cardboard and plaster
To make the globe, Blaeu proceeded as follows: using a mould, a hollow sphere was made with a shell of cardboard, papier-mâché and plaster. A wooden spindle was then inserted into the globe. Metal axes, visible at the poles, were mounted on the ends of this. Tapered strips of paper were glued to the sphere on both sides, showing the celestial bodies. The map image was engraved in a copper plate, from which prints were made.
Rings around the sphere
Over the sphere runs a brass ring, the meridian ring with a degree scale, so you can read the geographical location. A wooden horizon ring is plastered with paper showing, among other things, the constellations of the zodiac and the months of the year. The globe hangs in a wooden chair for support and to make it easy to rotate.
You can see the celestial globe at the Special Collections Reading Room in the UB. This object is part of the collection of Mr H. Bos, who bequeathed his collection to the University Library.
Literature
- The art and history of globes / Sylvia Sumira London: British Library, 2014
- The world in miniature : globes in the Netherlands / Diederick Wildeman. Zutphen: Walburg Pers, cop. 2006.
- Globi Neerlandici: the production of globes in the Low Countries / Peter van der Krogt Utrecht: HES Publishers, cop.1993. p.495
Sphaera stellifera, in qua, ut speculo quodam firmamenti, universum sijderum ornatum, ac stellarum ordinem
[Amsterdam]: Guilielmus Ianssonius Blaeu, [after 1621].
1 celestial globe: copper engraving; diameter 34 cm, height 50 cm
Fixed in wooden chair
Image bank: http://imagebase.ubvu.vu.nl/cdm/ref/collection/krt/id/3618
