An Inside Look to The Sidereal Globe
Take a closer look at one of the most famous globes by Caspar Pflieger in the Baroque Hall of The National Library
The Sidereal Globe by Caspar Pflieger
The globe with a diameter of 127 cm rests on a robust wooden base with the clockwork for rotation inside. Wooden ribs of the globe's frame are covered with thin sheet metal to make them robust and light.
The globe was made in 1725 by Caspar Pflieger (1665-1730), a mechanician and the first custodian of the Klementinum Mathematical Museum (Musaeum mathematicum).
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The Sidereal Globe by Caspar Pflieger (1725) by Caspar PfliegerNational Library of the Czech Republic
Names of winds
On the horizon band there are the Latin names of the winds...
...and a calendar.
The Sidereal Globe by Caspar Pflieger (1725) by Caspar PfliegerNational Library of the Czech Republic
Names of winds
Aries, Taurus, Triangulum, Piscis Boreus on The Sidereal Globe by Caspar Pflieger (1725) by Caspar PfliegerNational Library of the Czech Republic
Aries, Taurus, Triangulum, Piscis Boreus
Constellations were painted on parchment or paper, then glued to the properly shaped surfaces of the brass sheet and fixed on the ribs from the outside.
Hercules and Cerberus on The Sidereal Globe by Caspar Pflieger (1725) by Caspar PfliegerNational Library of the Czech Republic
Hercules and Cerberus
The stars were glued onto the paintings of personified constellations. They were cut out of gilded paper.
However, what is interesting, the pasting does not respect the actual position of the stars nor their number.
Andromeda, Piscis Boreus, Triangulum, Cassiopeia on The Sidereal Globe by Caspar Pflieger (1725) by Caspar PfliegerNational Library of the Czech Republic
Andromeda, Piscis Boreus, Triangulum, Cassiopeia
There is enough space between the constellation sheets to allow you to see inside of the globe.
Looking inside the globe is important, because from here the observer would see the constellations as they actually are in the sky.
Hydrus, Leo, Cancer on The Sidereal Globe by Caspar Pflieger (1725) by Caspar PfliegerNational Library of the Czech Republic
Hydrus, Leo, Cancer
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The globes were often created in pairs, geographical and celestial, made by the same author in the same style and dimensions.
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The geographical globe from Caspar Pflieger's duo of globes, which Pflieger did not manage to complete (the southern hemisphere is missing), is located on the north side of the Baroque Hall.
Ceiling fresco of the New Mathematical Hall (1760) by Josef KramolínNational Library of the Czech Republic
Keep exploring!
Continue your journey through the collection of the National Library of the Czech Republic and piece together the puzzles with family and friends!
