This globe once rotated, charting the constellations. A unique object uniting extraordinarily complex mechanical technology with great aesthetic beauty, it belonged to the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, who displayed it in his curiosity cabinet. It was valued both for its function as a scientific apparatus and for its rich, elegant casework. Pegasus bears the seemingly weightless globe on his outstretched wings. Astronomy was enabled by knowledge of arithmetic and geometry, then considered "the wings of the human mind."
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Signature: Signed on semi-circle mounted at right angles to meridian ring: GERHARD / EMMOSER · SAC[RAE] · CAES[ARAE] · MEIS[TATIS] · HOROLOGIARIUS · F[ECIT] · VIENNÆ · A[NNO] · 1579 [trans.: Gerhard Emmoser, clockmaker to the Holy Roman Emperor, Vienna, 1579]
Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II of Austria (by 1607/11–1648) ; Christina, Queen of Sweden (from 1651) ; Avocat Fortier, Conseiller du Roi (1770) ; M. Delacronière, Conseiller en la cour des aides de Paris (1781) ; M. Daugny (until 1858; his sale, Hôtel des Commissaires-Priséurs (Charles Pillet), Paris, March 8, 1858, no. 62); Charles Mannheim (in 1898) ; J. Pierpont Morgan , New York and London (until 1913) ; J. P. Morgan Jr. , New York (by descent, 1913–17; to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "In the Presence of Kings: Royal Treasures from the Collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 19–September 4, 1967.
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "The Triumph of Humanism: A Visual Survey of the Decorative Arts of the Renaissance," October 22, 1977–January 8, 1978.
Munich. Bayerisches Nationalmuseum. "Die Welt als Uhr Deutsche Uhren und Automaten, 1550–1650," April 15, 1980–September 30, 1980.
Washington D.C. Smithsonian Institution. "Die Welt als Uhr Deutsche Uhren und Automaten, 1550–1650," November 7, 1980–February 15, 1981.
Villa Hügel, Essen. "Prag um 1600: Kunst und Kultur am Hofe Rudolfs II," June 10, 1988–October 30, 1988.
Vienna. Kunsthistorisches Museum. "Prag um 1600: Kunst und Kultur am Hofe Rudolfs II," November 11, 1988–February 26, 1989.
New York. Jewish Museum, New York. "From Court Jews to the Rothschilds: Art, Patronage and Power 1600–1800," September 8, 1996–January 19, 1997.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Art of Time: European Clocks and Watches from the Collection," December 18, 2007–April 27, 2008.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Luxury of Time: European Clocks and Watches," November 16, 2015–March 27, 2016.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Relative Values: The Cost of Art in the Northern Renaissance," August 7, 2017–October 7, 2019.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Making Marvels: Science and Splendor at the Courts of Europe," November 18, 2019–March 1, 2020.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Relative Values: The Cost of Art in the Northern Renaissance," February 24, 2021–January 23, 2022.
Associate Curator Elizabeth Cleland invites visitors to Relative Values to view decorative-arts objects from northern Renaissance as works of contemporary art.
Students will be able to identify similarities and differences between scientific tools used now and long ago; and use research findings to support observations and interpretations.
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The Met's comprehensive collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century.
