Globe clock

The globe clock, dated 1674, bears the monogram “A.F.,” the identity of which has not been determined. Antonino Santangelo (1964, 48) drew a comparison between this piece and the sphere held by Urania in a figurative clock crafted by Paulus Schiller circa 1620, currently housed at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg (Maurice 1976b, no. 379, 55). Pietro Cannata (2011, 172–173) suggested attributing the globe clock to an unidentified German maker, situating it within the prominent tradition of metal globes—both terrestrial and celestial—produced in Northern Europe from the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries. Among the numerous cited examples, notable pieces include the clock with terrestrial globe crafted by Georg Roll and Johannes Reinhold in 1586 for the Kunstkammer of Prince-Elector Christian I in Dresden, as well as the "Globo sidero, con movimento di orologeria" (Celestial Globe, with Clockwork Movement) in gilded bronze, produced in Kassel by Jost Burgi in 1580. These artifacts are distinguished by the intricate decoration of their supports, exemplified by the celestial globe clock created at the close of the sixteenth century for Philip V, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (Maurice 1976a, no. 256, pp. 44–45). The creation of such multifunctional objects relied on collaboration between technicians and skilled craftsmen, who collectively contributed to the design of the supports, map engraving, and refinement of complex mechanical components (Hauschke 2007, pp. 216–218). During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the significant demand for scientific instruments—both for educational use and collection—aligned with Europe's expanding interest in ongoing geographical and astronomical discoveries (Hofmann 2019, 170). The cartography displayed on the globe at the Museo di Palazzo Venezia, while described as "very sketchy and inaccurate" (Santangelo 1964, 48), nonetheless reflects familiarity with the planisphere found in Abraham Ortelius’s Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Antwerp, 1570), reproducing its explanatory inscriptions and decorative illustrations (Elkhadem 1998, 31–42).

Daria Gastone

Entry published on 16 October 2025

Fair. Some oxidation.

At the South Pole: “A. F./ Ao 1674”;
on the apical quadrant: “MARTEL” (?).

Collezione Giacinto Auriti, 1963.

Typed inventory card, P.V. 10874, n.n., n.d., Archivio del Museo Nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia;
Santangelo Antonino, La collezione Giacinto Auriti. Piccoli bronzi placchette incisioni oggetti di uso, bozza dattiloscritta, 46, Archivio del Museo Nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia;
ICCD OA, NCTN 1200865125, compiled by Dell’Ariccia A., 2004.

Santangelo Antonino, Museo di Palazzo Venezia. La Collezione Auriti, Roma 1964, p. 48;
Maurice, in Maurice Klaus, Die deutsche Räderuhr, II, München 1976, p. 55, n. 379, (Maurice 1976a);
Maurice, in Maurice Klaus, Die deutsche Räderuhr, II, München 1976, pp. 44-45, n. 256, (Maurice 1976b);
Elkhadem Hossam, La naissance d’un concept: Le Theatrum Orbis Terrarum d’Ortelius, in Karrow Robert W., Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598) cartographe et humaniste, Turnhout 1998, pp. 31-42;
Hauschke Sven, Goldschmiede als Hersteller wissenschaftlicher Instrumente und Geräte, in Tebbe Karin, Nürnberger Goldschmiedekunst 1541-1868, II, catalogo della mostra (Nürnberg, Germanischen Nationalmuseum, 20 settembre 2007-13 gennaio 2008), Nürnberg 2007, pp. 216-232;
Cannata, in Cannata Pietro, Museo Nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia. Sculture in bronzo, Roma 2011, pp. 172-173, n. 193;
Hofmann Catherine, Pouvoir, savoir et vanité: la polysémie du globe dans les arts en Occident (XVIe-XVIIe siècles) in Hofmann Catherine, Nawrocki François, Le monde en sphères, catalogo della mostra (Parigi, Bibliothèque nationale de France, 16 aprile-21 luglio 2019), Paris 2019, pp. 170-177.