Terrestrial floor globe
Terrestrial floor globe. It forms a pair with the celestial globe, Blaeu GLB0131. Geographical details on the sphere are almost the same as Blaeu GLB0104. There are loxodromes for 32 compass points, the Strait of le Maire is drawn and California is shown as an island by the use of overlay gores. The Dutch discoveries of parts of the coast of Australia and New Zealand are recorded and the Great Wall of China is depicted with an almost illegible comment. The hypothetical southern continent is labelled. There are also decorative animals, cannibals, ships and monsters.
There is a note on finding the longitude, inside a cartouche decorated with two figures, one with a cross staff and the other with a quadrant. There is a note on the history of exploration in North America inside a cartouche with eskimos in a kayak on the top, and Indians at the sides. At the bottom is a bear's head with foxes and beavers. There are further notes on discoveries and circumnavigation. A total of ten oceans are named.
The 'pasted-on' correction for the region near Japan with the discoveries of Vries of 1643 is absent. This absence could indicate an earlier class of globe. For full details about the cartography and construction of this globe please refer to the related publication.
There is a note on finding the longitude, inside a cartouche decorated with two figures, one with a cross staff and the other with a quadrant. There is a note on the history of exploration in North America inside a cartouche with eskimos in a kayak on the top, and Indians at the sides. At the bottom is a bear's head with foxes and beavers. There are further notes on discoveries and circumnavigation. A total of ten oceans are named.
The 'pasted-on' correction for the region near Japan with the discoveries of Vries of 1643 is absent. This absence could indicate an earlier class of globe. For full details about the cartography and construction of this globe please refer to the related publication.
For more information about using images from our Collection, please contact RMG Images.
Object Details
ID: | GLB0130 |
---|---|
Collection: | Astronomical and navigational instruments; Charts and maps |
Type: | Floor globe |
Display location: | Not on display |
Creator: | Blaeu, Willem Jansz |
Date made: | circa 1650 |
Credit: | National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection |
Measurements: | Overall: 1168 x 916 mm; Diameter of sphere: 680 mm; Diameter of Meridian Ring: 739 mm |