The globe made from ostrich egg is said to have come from da Vinci

At the University of Graz, explorer Stefaan Missinne, who had taken a replica to the capital of Styria, spoke on Wednesday evening about the approximately eleven centimeter large globe, which consists of the round halves of two ostrich eggs.

It shows finely engraved images of the world as it was known in the early 16th century through the expeditions of Columbus and other navigators. The artifact bears inscriptions with the names of numerous countries and regions – “Galia”, “Hispania” and “Italia”, roughly where you would expect France, Spain and Italy to be located today.

The dark waves of the ocean roll into what is now North America and Canada. Present-day Cuba is labeled ‘Isabel’, and ‘Sinarum Regio’ (China), ‘Iudae’ (Israel), ‘Asia Minor’ (Turkey) and even the Indian port city of ‘Caliqut’ are recorded. “Mundus Novus”, “Terra Sanctae Crucis” and “Terra de Brasil” make up South Africa, as Missinne explained on Wednesday at the invitation of the Center for the History of Science at the University of Graz.

Marked demarcation lines divided the world
There are also sea monsters, a shipwrecked sailor who plays a role in the dating, and a drawn demarcation line: This divides the world – with the exception of Europe – between Spain and Portugal on the basis of the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494). ), Missinne explained some details.

Two similar examples are considered the oldest globes depicting the New World: the copper Hunt Lenox Globe, which is about the same size, is in the New York Public Library, and the Globus Jagellonicus is in Kraków. They also date from the early years of the 16th century.

The ostrich egg dumpling is owned by Missinne herself. The collector, born in Belgium and now living in Austria, dates it to the year 1504 and considers it to be the prototype of which the copper casting is said to have been made in New Zealand. York.

Zeemanskapsel provides important information
According to Missinne, the hairstyle of a sailor swimming through the ocean provides an important clue to the dating: an Italian hairstyle specialist estimated it between 1498 and 1505. But the theory of authorship is even more astonishing: according to Missinne, it goes back to none other than Leonardo daVinci.

“From 1490 onwards, Leonardo experimented with designing globes,” Missinne explained in the evening in Graz. The ostrich egg dumpling was created in 1505. However, there is no specific signature on it. However, the hatchings on the globe indicate that they were made ‘by a left-handed artist’ – and Leonardo was ‘the only left-handed person in the workshop’, as Missinne pointed out.

The globe collector claims to have found the crucial information about the attribution in the Graz University Library. All facsimiles of Da Vinci’s notes are kept there: the globe collector found similarities between a ship floating in the ocean and images of Da Vinci. Or a drawing in the Codex Arundel in London, which Missinne classifies as a preparatory study for the ostrich egg globe.

Eggs come from a castle in Pavia
From his point of view, the origin of the two eggs that, when joined, form the globe is also clear and would also provide a connection to da Vinci: they would come from a castle in Pavia. At that time there was a “Struzzeria” – a room with various bouquets. And not only does Missinne have proof that the globe was made ‘from natural eggshells’ from Pavia, but he has also found a passenger ticket that proves da Vinci was there in 1502.

Missinne has been working with globes and art room objects for years. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a member of the Leonardo da Vinci Society and the Austrian Society for the History of Science.