Description
The Stewart Museum Montreal has in its collection an important Terrestrial Globe by Coronelli, its ornate stand consisting of four servile figures, wearing turbans and tobacco leaf skirts (presumeably the globe had links with the tobbacco industry) support the octagonal horizon ring. Another elaborate pair, and probably the finest stands ever made to support these globes are to be found in the Royal Library in Belgium.
We were commissioned by a leading map dealer the task of making a pair of Coronelli Globes using surviving gores, mounted on a stand of our choice. It is because of the Stewart Globes and the pair in the Royal Library, that we felt we had to attempt to raise our folio of skills and make a pair of elaborate figurative stands. We decided to make the theme being Africa as Coronelli depicts a decorative inscription on his 106cm terrestrial globe alluding to the source of the Nile. However while the Stewart’s rendition showed servitude to the rapidly emerging European expansion, we decided to make our figures showing total independance, warriors standing proud for the terrestrial globe and their female counterparts supporting the celestial globe.
We selected tribal figures from all corners of the Great Continent- Zulu -South; Ivory Coast-West; Algerian- North and Dinka- West. We chose a pineapple meridian support and gave all the figures similar reeded skirts (pineapple leaves) to unify them. Each figure holds a sphere (representing a planet) in each hand, with its symbol portrayed. Both globes would have the Seven Govenors (planets that decide the fate of man). The terrestrial globe would have one additional sphere a celestial one – homage to the powers above. The celestial globe with its female figures, here its planets would rotate in the opposite direction to the terrestrial to give balance between the two globes, and the eighth planet was a small terrestrial globe.
While these globes were made as a ‘one off’ we decided to make a mould of the male and female figures, this will enable us to make a similar pair, however we would select another part of the globe for the indigenous inhabitants required to support the two spheres.
DELIVERY
Bespoke globes can take in the region of 6-18 months to complete, depending on how busy we are, and which globe you want. Please contact us with any questions, we are always happy to discuss your requirements and advise on lead times and payment options.
When purchasing our historic facsimile globes, and large modern globes we take a 50% deposit when the order is placed, and the remaining 50% plus delivery when the globe is completed.
Delivery will be calculated then the globe is ready, due to fluctuating costs of shipping.
The African Coronelli Globes
£500,000.00
Coronelli’s 106cm Globes, were in fact an early example of a Do-It Yourself home assembly kit. This was for two reasons, the globe gores were first published as an atlas and secondly because the globes intended size was so large it would have been a logistical nightmare to transport them safely in the 18th century, wagons with no suspension and pot holed roads would have decimated the fragile plaster and lattice constructed globes.
Consequently, globes were constructed in distant lands, far from Coronelli’s printing press in Venice. This explains the variety of stands supporting existent surviving Globes.
Description
The Stewart Museum Montreal has in its collection an important Terrestrial Globe by Coronelli, its ornate stand consisting of four servile figures, wearing turbans and tobacco leaf skirts (presumeably the globe had links with the tobbacco industry) support the octagonal horizon ring. Another elaborate pair, and probably the finest stands ever made to support these globes are to be found in the Royal Library in Belgium.
We were commissioned by a leading map dealer the task of making a pair of Coronelli Globes using surviving gores, mounted on a stand of our choice. It is because of the Stewart Globes and the pair in the Royal Library, that we felt we had to attempt to raise our folio of skills and make a pair of elaborate figurative stands. We decided to make the theme being Africa as Coronelli depicts a decorative inscription on his 106cm terrestrial globe alluding to the source of the Nile. However while the Stewart’s rendition showed servitude to the rapidly emerging European expansion, we decided to make our figures showing total independance, warriors standing proud for the terrestrial globe and their female counterparts supporting the celestial globe.
We selected tribal figures from all corners of the Great Continent- Zulu -South; Ivory Coast-West; Algerian- North and Dinka- West. We chose a pineapple meridian support and gave all the figures similar reeded skirts (pineapple leaves) to unify them. Each figure holds a sphere (representing a planet) in each hand, with its symbol portrayed. Both globes would have the Seven Govenors (planets that decide the fate of man). The terrestrial globe would have one additional sphere a celestial one – homage to the powers above. The celestial globe with its female figures, here its planets would rotate in the opposite direction to the terrestrial to give balance between the two globes, and the eighth planet was a small terrestrial globe.
While these globes were made as a ‘one off’ we decided to make a mould of the male and female figures, this will enable us to make a similar pair, however we would select another part of the globe for the indigenous inhabitants required to support the two spheres.
DELIVERY
Bespoke globes can take in the region of 6-18 months to complete, depending on how busy we are, and which globe you want. Please contact us with any questions, we are always happy to discuss your requirements and advise on lead times and payment options.
When purchasing our historic facsimile globes, and large modern globes we take a 50% deposit when the order is placed, and the remaining 50% plus delivery when the globe is completed.
Delivery will be calculated then the globe is ready, due to fluctuating costs of shipping.
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