There is yet a fourth metal globe in this collection, apparently the work of Bürgi, which is not gilded. In other respects it is said to resemble the one designated above as the third globe. Kepler is said to have held in the highest esteem the scientific work of Bürgi, and to have placed him, within his field, as high as he did Albrecht Dürer among artists. There appears to be good reason for attributing the invention of the pendulum clock to Jost Bürgi, and that before 1600 he had proved this method of clock regulation practical.
Among the numerous and interesting treasures to be found in the Landesmuseum of Zürich is a terrestrial globe (Fig. [80]) having neither name of maker nor date of construction, but belonging, undoubtedly, to the late sixteenth century.[366] The sphere has a diameter of about 121 cm., is mounted on a substantial wooden base, and appears to have been made for the monastery of St. Gall, from which place it was taken to Zürich in the year 1712. On the semicircular arms which support the equatorial circle are represented the armorial bearings of the abbey and monks of St. Gall, and the date in gold, 1595, which may refer to the date of construction or to the date when it was placed in the monastery. On the equatorial circle one finds represented the signs of the zodiac, the calendar, the names of the saints and of the winds. On the heavy meridian circle are indicated the climatic zones and the degrees of latitude. The prime meridian is made to pass through the Azores Islands. The sphere is of papier-mâché and plaster, on which the engraved gores are mounted. The seas have been colored green, the lands a dull yellow, the mountain ranges brown. Numerous barbaric kings are represented in picture, likewise numerous animals of land and sea, and ships artistically drawn sail hither and thither over the oceans. The austral continent is wanting. Marcel especially notes the striking resemblance of the globe map to the Mercator map of 1569, suggesting the possibility of its Mercatorian origin, in support of which suggestion he quotes a number of geographical names as well as certain legends. The globe, it appears, has never been critically studied, but is clearly an interesting geographical monument of the period.
Fig. 80. Anonymous Terrestrial Globe, ca. 1595.
The making of globe-goblets in the latter half of the sixteenth century and early seventeenth appears to have been in response to a fashion especially pronounced in South Germany, although their construction was not limited to that region. Not a few of such globes are extant, which are fine examples of the metal worker’s art, having, however, a decorative rather than a scientific value.
Professor Fischer gives us an interesting description of such a goblet of gilded silver (Fig. [81]), dating from the end of the sixteenth or the beginning of the seventeenth century, and it is from his account that the following reference is taken.[367] This piece he pronounces the most valuable treasure in the plate room of the princely castle of Wolfegg, to which castle it was the author’s privilege to pay a most interesting visit more than a decade ago. The globe was long considered a christening gift from the Emperor Francis to his godson Francis of the Waldburg zu Wolfegg princely family and was supposed to date from the end of the eighteenth century. Professor Fischer, however, found this “globis terrestris” referred to in a testament dated January 17, 1779, with instructions that it, with certain other treasures, should not be recast or otherwise altered from its ancient form. It was at that time recognized as a masterpiece, but from the hands of an unknown master, and not until recently was it definitely determined to be the work of the Zürich goldsmith, Abraham Gessner (1552-1613). “Gessner appears to have manufactured his globe-goblets,” says Fischer, “not in response to orders previously given, but in the regular pursuit of his trade. At a time when rich merchants and scholars took such a lively interest in geography, and the opening up of new countries, he could count upon a market all the more readily because his goblets were made with the utmost care in every detail and were perfect examples of the various branches of the goldsmith’s art; casting, embossing, chasing, engraving, and solid gilding.”[368]
Fig. 81. Globe-Goblet of Abraham Gessner, ca. 1600.