Stars shine on the surface of this globe, which depicts the constellations in the sky as though seen from above, rather than from the surface of the earth. For this reason, constellations like the “Big Dipper” (Ursa Major) near the north pole appear backwards. Scientists used the globe to calculate various astronomical and astrological data. While the positions of the stars allow us to calculate the general time period the globe was made, an Arabic inscription in the Southern Hemisphere dates the object using three different calendar systems: the Islamic calendar (Hijri), the Zoroastrian (ancient Persian religion) calendar, and one based on the death of Alexander the Great.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris; purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
Exhibitions
1982-1984
The Heritage of Islam. Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston; California Academy of Sciences Museum, San Francisco; Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul; Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington; Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn; Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.
1980
Islamic Insights. Katonah Gallery, Katonah.
1971-1972
World of Wonder. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.
1955
To the Ends of the Earth with Early Explorers. The Newark Museum, Newark.
1952
The World Encompassed; An Exhibition of the History of Maps Held at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore.