The globes are mounted on their original four-legged, ebonied oak, Dutch stands, which support the wooden horizon ring. The latter is covered with copper-engraved paper and has a varnished surface coating. The legs are connected by two crossbeams that support a circular baseplate with a central support for the meridian ring. On each globe, there are five cartouches and on each globe there is an engraved cartouche signed and dated: Guilielmus Janssonius Blaeu | Anno 1602.

There are presently only 19 such pairs of globes recorded. These 9-inch globes are among the rarest, since there are very few known specimens compared to Blaeu’s smaller or larger sizes (4, 6, 13.5 and 26 inches). Going by the very few that have survived it can be assumed that Blaeu published very limited editions. The manufacturing process was very expensive and of great complexity.

Both globes are dated 1602 but were published after 1618, as they include the discoveries of Schouten and Le Maire (1615-1617). Both globes are signed Guilielmus Janssonius Blaeu, a surname he started to use around 1621 and therefore published after 1621.

Blaeu’s terrestrial globes were highly valued and much in demand, due to the care with which they were prepared, the efforts to incorporate up-to-date information about the latest discoveries, and the loxodromic lines, which made them particularly valuable to navigators.

His celestial globes were appreciated for the fact that they incorporate the most recent astronomical data, and because Blaeu had been the pupil of Tycho Brahe. They also found favour because Blaeu was known to be an astronomer and mathematician of distinction. The astronomical content combined with the new drawing style made this celestial globe the best and most modern of its time.

The terrestrial and celestial globes together are a visual representation of the cosmos and include the latest discoveries. As a producer of globes, following the tradition Blaeu made his globes in pairs: a terrestrial and a celestial one. Celestial and terrestrial globes were always sold in pairs until the nineteenth century.

OTHER KNOWN EXAMPLES

This set of terrestrial and celestial globes arein the same states and comparable to the pairs of globes in the collections of the following museums, although on some globes the fabrication number is illegable.

Amsterdam, Het Scheepvaartmuseum, inv. no. B 25, Terr.: 3b (‘fabr. no. 7’), Cel.: 2 (‘fabr. no. 4’)

Rotterdam, Maritiem Museum, inv. nos. M475 and M473, Terr.: 3b (‘fabr. no. -’) Cel.: (‘fabr. no. 4’)

Greenwich, National Maritime Museum, inv. no. GLB0083, Terr.: 3b (‘fabr. no. 23’) Cel.: 2 (‘fabr. no. -’)    Idem, inv. nos. GLB0152 and GLB0151, (‘fabr. no. 1’) Terr. 3b (‘fabr. no. 1’) Cel.: 2 (‘fabr. no. 2’)

Brussels, Koninklijke Bibliotheek Albert I, inv. no. IV 10189, Terr.: 3b (‘fabr. no. -’) Cel.: 2 (‘fabr. no. XXIII’)

Dresden, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon, inv. no. E I 34 (formerly Halle, Hematmuseum), Terr.: 3b (‘fabr. no.-’) Cel.: –

The making of globes