Celestial and Terrestrial Globes
by BLAEU, Willem Janszoon, Coloured copper engraving, papier-mâché and plaster applied on a sphere, diameter 68 cm
Between the 1580s and 1610s, Dutch cartography became a major player in Europe. The manufacture of globes in Amsterdam at this time was defined by the market battle fought between the firms of Van Langren, Hondius and Blaeu, which was eventually won by Willem Janszoon Blaeu, thanks to his scientific skill and his artistic inventions.
During this period, four or five pairs of terrestrial and celestial globes of different sizes were produced, and supreme among them were the largest (68 cm in diameter) globes to come out of Amsterdam, produced by the Blaeu publishing house between 1614 and 1617.