Ostrich Egg Globe

Mundus Novus depicted on the Da Vinci Globe

The Da Vinci Globe, also known as the Ostrich Egg Globe,^[1] is an Italian Renaissance object of historical importance, possibly designed by Leonardo da Vinci. It dates from about 1504 and is the first known globe to depict the New World. It is the prototype for the Hunt–Lenox Globe, a red copper cast.

Background

Stefaan Missinne argues that Leonardo da Vinci's world map, which depicts America, was a 1503 preparatory drawing for the globe.^[1]^[a] This might indicate that Leonardo knew of Christopher Columbus's discovery of America. The Ostrich Egg Globe, dating from about 1504, may be the first extant globe to depict the New World.^[4]

Description

The hollow globe is made from the conjoined lower halves of two ostrich eggs.^[4] In the bottom half of the lower part a counterweight made of calcium and glued with egg white was added to keep the globe upright as the globe has no mounting.^{[citation needed]}

The scale of the globe is 1:80,000,000 and its diameter is about 11.2 cm. It weighs 134 grams. The North–South axis is vertical, reflecting the thinking of Aristotle.^{[citation needed]} The globe's twin, the Hunt-Lenox Globe (at the New York Public Library), is a cast made of red copper^[4] representing the Earth in the center of an armillary sphere.

The Ostrich Egg Globe depicts numerous subjects, including ships, a volcano, sailors, a monster, ocean waves, conic mountains, rivers, coastal lines, and a triangular anagram.^{[citation needed]}

Discovery and provenance

The globe was offered for sale in 2012 at the London Map Fair held at the Royal Geographical Society.^[4] Its similarity to the Lenox Globe was confirmed in 2012 by the former president of the Coronelli Society, Professor Rudolf Schmidt, and confirmed by art expert Archduke Dr. Géza von Habsburg in 2013.^[5] In August 2012, Discover published one of the first popular general articles about the globe.^[6]

Leonardo writes: "El mio mappamondo che ha Giovanni Benci" ("My world globe that Giovanni Benci has") in the Codex Atlanticus in Milan, page 331 recto, dating from 1504.^[1]^[b]

Analysis by Italian researcher Elisabetta Gnignera finds that the hairstyle of a drowning marine depicted in an engraving are compatible with the date and provenance of the globe.^{[citation needed]} Leonardo owned this codex, and it is the only known manuscript with annotations by him.^{[citation needed]}

On the globe's lower half, there is a red copper droplet that contains arsenic, a chemical substance only known to be prescribed by Leonardo, to be added to copper to maintain its red color^{[citation needed]}^[c] Visual observation of photographs of the Lenox Globe seems to support this as it does not display any green or black patina, which is normal for copper exposed to air.^{[citation needed]}

References

Footnotes

^ In 1503, Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci wrote a letter to Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco, in which he declares that the landmass discovered by Christopher Columbus could be considered a hitherto unknown continent.^[2]^[3]
^ For maps Leonardo prefers the word "carta", and for a globular form or sphere he prefers "sfera", while for a terrestrial globe he uses "mappamondo".^{[citation needed]} In the Codex Atlanticus, page 331 recto, Leonardo repeats the word "mappamondo" twice. This is repeated with some slight variation (as "mappamondo de' Benci") in his Codex Arundel, page 191 recto, also dating from 1504. The use of "mappamondo" is an Italian vernacular abbreviation for "palla d' mappamondo" or "world terrestrial globe", in brief: "globe".^{[citation needed]}
^ Leonardo writes in Codex Atlanticus page 1103 verso: "Metti nella mistura il rame arso, ovvero la corrompi collo arsenico, ma sarà frangibile" ("Put the burnt copper into the mixture, or you corrupt it with arsenic, but it will be breakable").^[7]

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c Jones, Josh (23 February 2021). "The Oldest Known Globe to Depict the New World Was Engraved on an Ostrich Egg, Maybe by Leondardo da Vinci (1504)". Open Culture. Retrieved 11 April 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ Fernández-Armesto, Felipe (2007). Amerigo: The Man Who Gave His Name to America. New York: Random House. p. 73. ISBN 978-1-4000-6281-2.
^ Davidson, M. H. (1997). Columbus Then and Now: A Life Re-examined. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, p. 417.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Kim, Meeri (19 August 2013). "Oldest globe to depict the New World may have been discovered". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
^ Missinne, Stefaan (Fall 2013). "A Newly Discovered Early Sixteenth-Century Globe Engraved on an Ostrich Egg: The Earliest Surviving Globe Showing the New World". The Portolan: Journal of the Washington Map Society (87): 8–24.
^ B. Draxler, "Engraved Ostrich Egg Globe is Oldest to Depict the New World", in D-brief - DiscoverMagazine.com, August 2012, pp. 1–2 and J. Skurie.
^ Codex Atlanticus page 1103.

External links

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oldest-globe-to-show-the-americas-discovered/

[4] In 1503, Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci wrote a letter to Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco, in which he declares that the landmass discovered by Christopher Columbus could be considered a hitherto unknown continent.^[2]^[3]

[8] For maps Leonardo prefers the word "carta", and for a globular form or sphere he prefers "sfera", while for a terrestrial globe he uses "mappamondo".^{[citation needed]} In the Codex Atlanticus, page 331 recto, Leonardo repeats the word "mappamondo" twice. This is repeated with some slight variation (as "mappamondo de' Benci") in his Codex Arundel, page 191 recto, also dating from 1504. The use of "mappamondo" is an Italian vernacular abbreviation for "palla d' mappamondo" or "world terrestrial globe", in brief: "globe".^{[citation needed]}

[10] Leonardo writes in Codex Atlanticus page 1103 verso: "Metti nella mistura il rame arso, ovvero la corrompi collo arsenico, ma sarà frangibile" ("Put the burnt copper into the mixture, or you corrupt it with arsenic, but it will be breakable").^[7]

[:0-1] Jones, Josh (23 February 2021). "The Oldest Known Globe to Depict the New World Was Engraved on an Ostrich Egg, Maybe by Leondardo da Vinci (1504)". Open Culture. Retrieved 11 April 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[2] Fernández-Armesto, Felipe (2007). Amerigo: The Man Who Gave His Name to America. New York: Random House. p. 73. ISBN 978-1-4000-6281-2.

[3] Davidson, M. H. (1997). Columbus Then and Now: A Life Re-examined. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, p. 417.

[:1-5] Kim, Meeri (19 August 2013). "Oldest globe to depict the New World may have been discovered". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 21 August 2020.

[6] Missinne, Stefaan (Fall 2013). "A Newly Discovered Early Sixteenth-Century Globe Engraved on an Ostrich Egg: The Earliest Surviving Globe Showing the New World". The Portolan: Journal of the Washington Map Society (87): 8–24.

[7] B. Draxler, "Engraved Ostrich Egg Globe is Oldest to Depict the New World", in D-brief - DiscoverMagazine.com, August 2012, pp. 1–2 and J. Skurie.

[9] Codex Atlanticus page 1103.

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