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DER
GLO USFREUND
WISSENSCHAFTLICHE ZEITSCHRIFT
fur
GLOBEN-UNDINSTRUMENTENKUNDE
JOURNAL FOR
THE
STUDY OF GLOBES
AND RELATED INSTRUMENTS
Nr.35-37
REPORT
on the
Vlth INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
OF CORONELLI SOCIETY
organized with the assistence
of
RIJKSMUSEUM "NEDERLANDS SCHEEPVAART MUSEUM"
Amsterdam
WIEN 1987
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FIORINI - REWARD
for articles
and monographs of
particular
value on old globes
During the
VI Coronelll Symposium
Mr. Vladlmlro Valerlo
addressed to
the
participants, after having Introduced the figure of Matteo Fiorlnl as a prominent
scholar In our
f ield
of
Interest
(see
the Introduction
to Mr.
Vale io's
paper on
the
Farnese
Atlas
here published) a
request of celebration
of
the
coming
centenary
of Florlni's works on old globes.
It
means, In a certain way, to celebrate
the birth
of our
f ield
of study.
We
suggest
that
a Commission should organize a
Fiorini reward for articles
and monographs of particular value on old globes. The prize might also be
periodically
assigned and the Societe Geograflca Italiana (first publisher of the
Fiorlnl's work)
and
other societies might
be
consulted to adhere to the
Initiative.
Vladrmlro
VALERIO
Rudolf
SCHMIDT
97
HISTORiOGRAPHIC AND NUMERICAL NOTES
ON
THE ATLANTE FARNESE
AND ITS CELESTIAL SPHERE
Fig. 18, 19
Vladlmlro Valerlo
Rlchlederebbe
un trattato a
parte
quella Ingegnosa
scoltura,
e forse un
glorno
l 'otterre,
per soddlsfazlone de
gll erudltl.
(F. Blanchlnl, La
Istarla
Unlversale,
1697)
First of
al i i
must pay
a
sort of debt
o f
gratitude to
a person whose
work
has
been and still Is a milestone In the history of ancient globes, which after his
publications soon became an autonomous discipline. His name Is
Matteo Florlnl
(1827-1901) who
was
professor of
theoretical geodesy
at
the
University
of
Bologna since 1860
(1
). He was also author of a
fundamental study
on map pro
jections which were viewed for
the
first t ime within
a
historical
background
(2).
Between 1893 and 1898 he gathered Information on old globes preserved In
Italy
making use of a form which was sent
to
Italian libraries, archives, Institutions
and
private collectors. The
Inquiry
was
a
consequence of
a
vote
expressed
during a sessIon of the first
Italian
Geographical
Conference
held In Genova In
1892. A
long
article
appeared
In
the
years
1893 and
1891t In
the "Bollettlno
della
Societe Geograflca Italiana" (3).
A
German revised edition
of this
paper
was
published
by
S. GUnther In 1895, and It
Is often
referred to as
Florlnl-GUnther
work on globes (It).
In 1899 a prominent study on old globes came to
l ight. The
book titled "Sfere
terrestrl
e
celestl
dl autore
Itallano
oppure fatte
0
conservate In Italia" Is the
first of
such a kind In the
world
(5)
and Is
much more
than
the
first national
catalogue
of globes (6). In fact, the pioneering work provided a fai r base for
several
publications and
nowadays
- though aged -
Is
still a
mine
for the
biblio
graphical Information gathered
In
the footnotes.
Florlnl's work has also been
Influencing
scholars who
didn't
know the original
Italian edition by the mean
of
the better known
"Terrestrial
and
Celestial
Glo
bes"
by
E.
L. Stevenson (7). It
Is
the
case
to read again what Stevenson wrote
In
the prefacel
"The
author makes In this place special mention o f his Indebtedness
to the
studies
of the distinguished Italian scholar, Professor Matteo Florlnl,
adding that with some propriety his name might have a
place
on the tit le page.
Had
there
not
been a
ready
access
to
his
Important
works, had
the Italian Geo
graphical Society
not
so graciously expressed
to
the author Its willingness
for
the
free
use of as much of his published Investigations as
might
be desired,
the preparation
of this
work necessarily
would have
extended over
a
conside
rable period of time" (8). After having made reference to Florlnl's book
Steven
son went on
writing:
"Not an Inconsiderable part of his descriptive
details
has
been
appropriated,
being given In
free
translation
or
In paraphrase, quotation
marks having
been
omitted".
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The
success and
the
good
luck
of
Stevenson's work relegated
In
the
oblivion
the parent book by Florlnl; unfortunately prefaces are not always
carefully
read
out. It
Is really
a hard
job
to
find today
any
direct quotation
from Florlnl as well
as the mere appearance
of his works In
the l i terature of
non
Italian
publications.
We have also .to point out that Stevenson did
not
Improve everywhere Florlnl's
state of
knowledge.
For Instance, the
fifteen
pages devoted to the Atlante
Farnese In 1899
remain the best modern description of It, while
Stevenson
made
a step backward In his sixteen line
short description
(9).
Should
something
better
be found
In
the
present
work
It
comes
from
a
careful reading of Florlnl's
pages. The
circumstance clarify my
Indebtedness
to
him.
Coming now to
the
Farnese Atlas
and
Its globe,
It
Is really a
puzzling matter
where to
begin
with
In consideration of the
many
things to be presented
and
discussed and due to the manifold lines of research suggested by the SCUlpture. I
am
aware
- It must be said - thQt
there
are
at
leQst two ways o f approaching
the study of the Atlas
and Its
globe.
A
stylistic (or
hyconologlc) one
of which,
unfortunately, I have found no researches, and an astronomical one; due to my
own feeling
and competence I
will
only
deal with
the latter
waiting anxiously
for
a hyconologJc
study. The answers we may expect from
an
archaeological
approach
are related
basically to the age of the
actual
figuration of the
constellations as
they
appear
on
the
globe
and
may further
help In
dating the
birth
of such a kind of solid sphere
which
seems,
at
a
first glance, to go back to
not later
than first century B.C.
In spite of Its
fame
-
It Is quite often
cited here
and
there
as
we may
easily
detect
from
the wide
bibliography
collected
- the
Farnese
Atlas
has been
studied only once since
Its
appearance
In Rome
during
excavations carried
on In
the
middle of the l l . th century (10). The
Importance
of the
celestial
sphere has been undervalued In the last two centuries due to the
scant attention paid to It and
to
the
lack o f any serious study. We f ind
descrepancles even In the number of constellations registered In the globe (see
Appendix I).
This work
Is
only Intended to be a starting point for further studies, trying to
collect
and discuss as many
references
as possible on the subject and to
give
a
detailed
description of
the
sphere (see
Appendix 11).
It
Is
generally accepted that
Passerl's
"Atlas
Farneslanus"
provides the first
and best
systematic
account on the Atlas (11). As a
matter
of fact, It
Is
the only
work
quoted almost
everywhere. The statement Is wrong
In
both
aspects
(first
and
best). First of all
Passerl
himself
mokes In
the preface (preface
should
always be read) a frank
reference
to a previous study carried on by the
"Preclarlsslmo Presule"
Francesco Blanchlnl, work which
was
kindly transmItted
to him by A.F. Gorl, editor of the series In whIch Passerl's work was published
(12).
Furthermore,
Passerl'
Informes
us
that
the
"celeberrlmus
Casslnlus,
Chrlstlanlsslml
Galllarum Regis Astronomus"
(13)
accompanied Blanchlnl during
the Inspection
of
the globe In 1
.95,
and
the
leQrned men of Europe were
all
waiting for the
publication
of
their
valuable considerations. Passerl again tells
us
"Integro
volumlne Atlantem Farneslanum se InlustrQturum promise
rat
Francisco Blanchlnus" (14).
The first
report of
the joint examination of the
Atlas -
very rarely recorded
and
never
In the last hundred years - appeared In 1
.97,
only two years after the
- 99-
Casslnl travel
to
Rome (15). In that
publication
we also
find
the ' f1
rst printed
Image
of
the sculpture (1 l.). In the short description of the Atlas Francesco
Blanchlnl recalls to the reader the help of Casslnl and also mentions the
necessity of deeper
studies
on It. Unfortunately
Blanchlnl
died
In 1729 and
because his many duties at the Papal
court
he
failed
In
completing
Qnd
publishing the work he certainly started
writing
during
the first
decades of the
18th
century.
A
manuscript
titled "Globus Farneslanus"
Is
mentioned for
the first
t ime
In 1731
and
In his
official
biography
of 1735 among
the unpublished works
(17). The
same
manuscript
Is
stili
preserved
In
the Blblloteca Capltolare
at
Verona where his library and the complete body
o f
his works are kept (18).
We
leave
for a
while
Blanchlnl's manuscript
which
had
not the
opportunity
to Influence any further study for the
bad use
made by
Passeri
who was unable
either
to understand the astronomical
computations or
to reach Blanchlnl's
wide
historical knowledge.
In
the reconstruction of the hlstorlography of the
Farnese
Atlas we have to
mention
now
not
an actual
study
but what
Is
the best and most
Interesting representation
of the globe
ever
published. It
Is
a
drawing made
up
by
Martin Folkes
(1690-1754),
a
singular f igure of
earned
man, who was struck
by the celebrated globe he had the opportunity to see during his journey
through
Italy (19).
We
know he turned
archaeologist after
the Italian
tour.
The
Image appeared In 1739 In Richard Bentley's edition of
the
"Astro
nomlcon"
by Manlllo (20). It has
already
been registered In the
l i terature:
Thlele
reproduced It
In
1898
(21) and
It
has
recently
been recorded
as "anonymous" by
Deborah Warner (22). It
Is
almost strange
that
the latter Ignores the name of the
author
If
we consider that Bentley himself
tells us
the story
In
the preface (we
should
always
read
prefaces).
It
Is
useful
to
read again
his
words
for the
l ink
with
another copy of
the
Farnese globe I
will
discuss In a short
while:
"At
nuperrlme VIr
exlmlus
Martlnus Foulkes,
ut
alffs omnibus, sic
artlbus etlam
Mathematlcls Instructlsslmus, globl hulusceFarneslanl ectypum
summa
conformatum
cura
secum Roma
deportavlt;
et noblscum pro slngularl sua
humanltate,
summoque ad IIteras
promovendas
studiO,
benlgne communlcavlt"
(23). ThUS,
we
learn
the
Image was
drawn and
engraved In England after
the
Folkes' "ectypum". Furthermore Bentley Informs us that "Qulnetiam ne quid
forte
In eo descrlbendo
erraret
artlfex, Ipse
etlam tabulam
hanc ad
ect
ypum
suum
accuratlsslme exeglt"
(24).
The very singular drawing
does
not take
the globe
In perspective,
os
It has
always been done, but In a
true
stereographJc projection. Only the mathematical
skllness
of
Folkes could
afford
to reproduce
the
whole globe
in
a
precise geo
metric projection. It
Is worthy to
be
noted
that this projection maps circles Into
circles
and Is orthomorphlc,
well
flttlng for astronomical purposes (25). Due to
the
flrst property
- certainly
known
In
ancient world
-
the
astrolabe was based
on
stereographlc projection
(26).
We
cannot ascertain which
kind
of copy
the
"ectypum"
was -
It
was
likely
a
plaster
copy. Anywo"y, though no
copy
of this kind seems su r
viving
today In
England, an .Idea of the occuracy of the Folkes' globe may be recognized In the
Sir
HansSloane's
copy
of
the Atlante
Farnese globe which
Is to
be connected -
according
to me - to Folkes' "ectypum" (27). The
date
o f
the
Sloane copy should
not
be
before
1739
otherwise,
I suppose,
Bentley
had spoken of It, and
not
after
1754when Folkes died; 1740s
being
the
most likely date
(28).
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Via Folkes the Fornese celestial sphere reached England and a
few
years
later Benjamln
Martin
briefly -
but clearly
expressing his
own opinion
- speaks
about
"a very
antique globe, which was
found In the ruins
of
ancient
Rome,
and
Is now
In the Museum of the Farneslan Palace, reserved as the most curios
Monument of Antiquity" (29).
Martin
also mentions a
copy "that
I have
by
me"
which Increases the number
of copies of
the
Farnese globe existing In England
In
the
middle
of
the 18th century.
Might
It be
the
engraving
appended
to
the
"Astronomlcon"
or
simply
the Sir Hans' copy? We don't know, but It Is curious
that
Martin
makes no
mention
of
Bentley
and
of
Folkes'
"ectypum".
In
spite
of
the confusion between
rcdlus and
diameter
of
the
globe he
made a
very
good
calculation
of
the
value of
the precession as It
Is
marked on the
globe:
"about
5,
which
shews
that
this globe might probably be made 360 Years after
the
Colure
was In the
Equinoctial Point"
(30).
This
conclusion as well as the following
dating of the globe "some years before the Birth of Christ"
and
the assumption
that the
equinoctial colure passed through the horn of
Aries
near 2200 years
before his t ime (I.e. about 430 B.C.) "with regard to the
Time and
Observations
of Hlpparchus", are all erroneous (31). At any rate, Martin provided a rare
attempt to date
the globe making use
of
the
value
of
the
precession so clearly
expressed in
the globe.
During the 18th century the Atlante Farnese
was
Included,
as we
have
already
seen In
Folkes'
case, among the obligatory stops
In the
tour through
Italy. Wlnckelmann described
some constellations of
the Farnese globe
In
his
"Monumentl Antlchl" (32) and
the
French astronomer Lalande mentlond the
Atlas he had
the opportunity
to see during his stay In Rome (33).
In
1813
the
Inte
'
rest
In
the
globe
was
renewed
In
the
occasion
of
the
French
translation of
the Almagest (34). In the preface (we must always read
prefaces)
the translator spends one page commenting the Farnese A Uas. He also gives a
few references and discusses
about
the Roman coin of
the
Emperor
Antonlnus
Plus In which Atlas bearing
the
sky Is shown. Halma, the translator, used the
coin as a
frontispiece
complaining that previous Illustrators
of
the
coin did not
pay the
due attention
to
the
globe
"sostenu par
un AUas parfaltement
semblable
au globe
de
marble
du
Palals
Farnese"
(35). More representations of the Farnese
atlas
were
promised to appear In the second volume
but,
unfortunately, Halma
failed
and
nothing of
the
Atlas and
Its globe appeared In the
next and
last
volume (36).
In
the
meanwhile
the
sculpture had reached Naples
together
with
the
whole
Farnese
collection
(37)
notwithstanding
the strong protest of Roman learned
men and against the will
ofthecardlnal
Alessandro Farnese (1520-1589). The
sculpture was reproduced In
white
porcelain In the
world
wide famous "Fabbrlca
dl Capodlmonte"
(38).
Since 1817 It
appeared In the guides
of
the Royal Borbo
nlc
Museum
treated
In a
rather
superficial description basically
drawn from
Passerl (39). The Image
of
the Farnese Atlas was also used as a
frontispiece
In a
Neapolitan geographical aUas (40).
In 1825 Inghlraml Inserted
In the volume of tables appended
to his "Monu
mentl
Etruschl" four views of the globe taken from Passe
rI's
copperplates with
the addition of a
few
mistakes due to oversights and pure astronomical
Ignorance (41).
Next
spoke of
the Atlas
In
1828
Gerhard and
Panofska
(42), In 1894
Denza
-101 -
(43),
In 1898 ' Thlele with
one of
the best historical
accounts
on the Farnese
Atlas (44), and cited It In
1899
Hlnkley Alien (45) and In 1903 Boil (46).
In
our
century no word has been added to that already said In
the
past. More
confusion
comes
from
unproved and
sometimes
Imaginary
dating. Stevenson
puts It 300 years
before
Christ (47), Lloyd Brown states categorically
"doubtless
of the
IV century
B.C." (48), De Smet
dates
It 200 years
B.C.
(49), according to
Fauser It Is a "romlsche Kople des ersten Jahrhunderts vor Chrlstus" (50), while
Warner
-
combining
Florlnl's
source with
Fauser's
opinion
- s ay s
that "The At
lante
Farneslano
Is
thought
to
be a
Roman
copy made
In
the
second
century
A.D.
of a Greek original from the third century B.C." (51). Aujac prefers to say
"rlproduzlone romana
dl
un modello ellenlstlco" (52) which Is a gracious way to
move the problem,
with
that sentence she covers a range
of
about
400 years,
and
the
same words are used In 1985 by Dllke (53). I
will not
discuss
further
of
many more -
sometimes
worthy - contribution
and only
record
some o f
them
(54).
Let's
come
back now to the
"preclarlsslmo" Blanchlnl.
The
manuscript study
on the
Farnese
aUas was actually printed In 1752 only two years
later
than the
bad account by Passerl appeared (55). As far as I know nobody records the
publication
which
Is
here . presented for the first t ime (56).
The
uneasily
readable manuscript (see my note 18) lacks almost completely
Its
Importance.
The
six
copperplates appended
to
the work are those
executed
under
the direct
control
of Blanchlnl
himself
and
first
published
In Passerl's
book
with the
Inter
cession
of
Gorl. Gluseppe Blanchlnl, nephew o f Francesco and
editor
of the
posthumous publication, only
added
the
Image
of
the
Antonlnus' coin
In the first
plate
and renumbered
the
Images
from
one
to
seven.
For my study the
most Interesting
chapters are the first two, being
the
others mainly devoted
to
historical and mythical descriptions
of
the asterlsms.
It
Is
the case
to remind that the
author's
aim
was to demonstrate
that
the f igura
t ion
of
the sky roots
down
Into the mythical-historical conquest of the Golden
Fleece.
In the first
chapter
Blanchlnl makes reference to the said Antonlnus' coin
and
suggests that
"eadem
statua,
nl
fallor"
(57)
Is
represented
In
the
coin;
the
resemblance Is one more evidence
of
the construction
of
the globe under the
reign of
Antonlnus
(138-161).
Furthermore
he
observes the
asterlsms follow
the
indications given
by Eudoxus, Aratus,
Clcero,
Germanlcus and
other translators
and are positioned occordlng to the celestial observations
of
Hlpparchus
and
Ptolemy
(58).
The
second
chapter deals
with
star position which
he
compares with
ptole
my's
coordinates successively checked
with Flamsteed's
catalogue of
stars
of
1690.
Blanch1nl finds that the
ever
visible circle
Is
positioned at f i f ty
degrees
which
leads
to the
horizon of Macedonia,
the place
where Aratus
worked
- as
Blanchlnl points
out
Then,
In order
to
date the
globes he computes
the
value of the
precession of
the equinoxes. The phenomenon was discovered by
Hlpparchus
around the middle of the 2nd century
B.C.
and was never
referr
.
ed
to
In
any
astronomical
treatise before Ptolemy as late as 150
A.D. (60). The
first
conclusion we may draw from this
Is
that It Is absolutely Impossible - unless we
will discover In
the
future other sources preceedlng
Hlpporchus which
speaks
clearly
of
the
precession - that the prototype - should there exist one - be
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before
the
Almagest.
Blanch
1nl
goes on
reckoning the actual position of
Aries
noting that the
Vernal
colure
passing
through
It
Is
actually a circle of right ascension. Thus
the
distance of
this
cercle from
the vernal
paint Is about
3
The figure Is very near
to
the value of right ascension o f Aries' horn deduced from the
coordinates
given In the
Almagest ('1 ). I t Is
the case
to
remind
that Ptolemy
used
ecllptlcal
coordinates latitude and longitude (62),
whllest
modern astronomers give
equatorial coordinates right ascension and declination.
To
be sure,
Blanchlnl
mokes
more
controls
In
the star
In
the
neck
of
Pollux
(called .
B
y
Bayed,
the stars In the rear horn of Capricorn, the star In the beach
of Swan and the
brightest
star' between the shoulders of Eagle, and finds that all
agree
with the Almagest. The
same precession o f
about
3 Is, of
course,
registered In the Autumnal p,olnt, showing that the exact registration o f
the
precession
Is
much more
than
a
coincidence.
Blanchlnl's conclusions are that IIsculptum fulsse hoc marmor, & Antonlno Plo
oblatum ad ornamentum Blbllothecae, una cum flxorum Cotalogo
per
ptole
maeum exacto ad
ejus ImperII
Epocham"
(63). These are Blanch1nl's
words
and
thoughts.
Nowadays we are
not
so confident In figures as Blanchlnl was, because the
more
accuracy
used In taking measures and
the
deeper
acquaintance we
have
with the Almagest
and Its
problems, even If,
It
must
be sold, I
undervalued diff i
culties In my
first
look at the Atlas In 1980 (64). Blanchlnl and Casslnl Ignored -
or
pretended
to Ignore
tha t
the
star catalogue
of Ptolemy
was
affected
by a
mean error of one degree In
longitude;
the
error
leads to define the sky of
about
75
years
earlier
than
Ptolemy That
means
that the
comparison
with
-Flamsteed
catalogue
was
not
accurately done.
Furthermore
at
the time
of
Blanchlnl people did
not
work with
statistics
and mean standard deviation and
the author
took
for
granted
that
circles were
exactly sculptured as
true
circle
and
that
two
tropics were pasltloned
at 2330'
as
It
was
In his
own time. The
last
arbltrarlous
assumption
Is wrong,
being the actual position of
tropics
on the
sphere
slightly
higher,
even than the Ptolemy's
value (I.e. 2351'). I found
that
(see my
Appendix 11) the
two
tropics,
as
well as all the circles
on
the globe, are
not perfect
circle
and have not a constant distance from the equator. Tropics
are positioned at
about
25 which
Is
one degree more than the value
generally
accepted
In
the ancient world
(66).
Anyway, we must
note
that one
degree on
the
Farnese globe means
five mllllmeters
only In
length, the thickness
o f
the
sculptured circles varying from three
to
six mllllmetersl
As a
consequence
all the measures given
by
Blanchlnl are
defective
and, In
particular, the value of the
precession
Is
a
bit higher and
does
not
f i t
exactly
with Ptolemy's
coordinates
(67).
The two
polar circles
-
according
to the
ancients
the ever
visible and
the never
visible
circles
-
are
actually
positioned
at 5643' Nand 5526'
S.
That
means
that the horizon for which the globe
Is
constructed
has a
latitude
of
about
3330'. Should that position be true (I mean
In
the will
of the
author
and
not
a
consequence
of chance)
the palar circles
are
referred to
Middle
Phoenlcla
(68),
even If we have to
warn
that differences
In
latitude
among Phoenlcla, Alessandrla, Rhodes or Macedonia lead to a
slight
displacement o f
circles
on the sphere, displacement
which Is
as higher as the
mean error
I have
found out
In
measuring
the
circles
(see
Appendix 11).
-103 -
In spite of the
litt le
discrepancies I have found In the
study
carried on by
Blanchlnl (and Cassln ) my figures and my observations
don't contradict
the
Almagest and don't reject Blanchlnl's opinion. On the contrary, as a conclusion, I
list
a
few elements which confirm the presence of the Almagest
In
the globe,
and Its construction around 150 A.D.:
1.. the presence of Balance among the constellations was
unknown
to
Aratus
and
Hlpparchus, It
only appeared In Western culture
at the
beginning of
our
Era
6911
2..
the
precession of equinoxes
Is
very clearly expressed In the globe and
Is
fully described
only
by Ptolemy
after
the now lost work by Hlpparchus
on
the "Displacement of solstlclal points";
3 .. In
the
Almagest Ptolemy made a few comparison among declinations
o f
some stars and
found
that the star In
the
left
hand of Virgo
(Spica)
was
north to the equator at the
time
of Hlpparchus and
was
south to It
In his
own
time. The left
hand
of
Virgo Is
doubtless south to the equator In the
Farnese globe (70);
4 - the construction of the whole globe as well as the relative position of
constellations
are
too exactly done and they Imply a scientific
support
which only the Almagest
provided In
the Ancient
World.
The Phenomenon
by Aratus
give
a good description of the outline of each
constellation
and
of
their relative position but are not sufficient
at
all for
reproducing
the
sky In a rather
mathematlcal way;
5 - the
horizon of
Middle Phoenlcla - should It
not
be a chance ..
Is of
basic
Importance
In
the
Almagest
for ptolemy
computed
planetary
phases
expressely for that
latitude
(71 ). Furthermore the position of Canopus (the
star
In
the
southern steering-oar
of
Argo)
well
agrees
with this never
visible circle.
The
Fornese globe
Is to
be
considered,
according to
me,
an
original piece
of
science
and ,
art, not
a
mere copy from an ancient
-
but how old,
I
wonder
..
original.
The
globe represents the state of knowledge
at
the
time
of
the
Almagest even If It may show -
and why not
- In some details a spurious and
different tradition.
In fact It embodies
the
astronomical knowledge
of antiquity
as the Almagest does.
Toomer
says that "the star
description
pose numerous Individual problems,
only a
few
o f
which are touched
In
the footnotes. Ideally one
should provide a
reconstruction of the outline o f each
constellation
as It appears In
Ptolemy's
star
globe This would be an
Interesting
and valuable
enterprise"
(72). I
think
the
Farnese globe
furnishes many answers to the question.
APPENDIX I - On
the
constellations
The
constellations represented on the globe are certainly 44 and might be 45
If we recognise the
Sagitta partially
hidden under
the wing
of Clgnus. Speaking
of the
Sagitta
Aratus says
that
"nearby fIys ' the
blrd" (verse 313). The
Ursa
Major
was
certainly sculptured
as Its
head Is still visible between the summer
colure and the hole which demaged the northern constellations. The
third
one
not recorded
so far
Is
Canis
Minor which Is
hidden .. but actuallly
sculptured
-
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-104 -
under the
right
hand of
Atlas.
Compared with the Almagest only Trlangulus and Equuleus are really wan
ted.
The
absence of the first Is really
Inexplicable
being
recorded
since
Aratus,
while
the
litt le
horse Is a
secondary
constellation near Pegasus and often
confuses with
It. The
lack
of
Ursa Minor Is
due to the
said
hole
In the
upper
part
of
the globe and Plsels Austrlnus
Is
covered by the shoulders
of
the giant.
There Is one asterlsm not recorded In the Almagest which might be a pure
Roman InventiOn something like a small throne between Cancer and Ursa Major.
Blanchlnl
and Passerl
called
It
"Cathedra
Casslopea" and
the
latter
says
that
It
Is
formed
by four
stars In the front legs
of
Ursa, where
nowadays there Is placed
the Lynx. Other people
Identify
It with
the
"Throne of Cesar", a comet visible In
Italy at
the time
of Augustusbut we find no
mention
In Vltruvlus (Ten books on
Architecture,
IX, 3, 4 and 5).
Northern constellations:
1 Ursa Major
2 Cathedra Casslopea
3
Draco
4 Cepheus
5 Bootes
6 Corona
Borealls
7 Hercules (Man kneeling)
8 Lyra
9 Clgnus
10
Casslopea
Zodiac:
20 Aries
21 Taurus
22
GeminI
23 Cancer
24 Leo
25 Virgo
Southern
Constellations:
32
Cetus
33
Orlon
34 Erldanus
35 Lepus
36 CanIs Major
37 Canis
Minor
38 Argo
11
Perseus
12
Aurlga
130phlucus
14 Serpens
15 Sagitta
16
Aqulla
17 Delphlnus
18 Pegasus
19 Andromeda
26 LIbra
27 Scorplus
28 SagIttarius
2'J Capricorn us
30 Aquarius
31 Pisces
39 Hydra
40
Crater
41
Corvus
42 Centaurus
43 Lupus
44
Ara
45 Corona Australls
APPENDIX - On the size and measures of the
globe.
Due
to
the relief
of the
constellation and circles all
the
measures are
to be
taken "with
a grain
of
salt"; errors
of
a
few
mllllmeters
are to
be
considered.
All
the measures here reported must be
read
"about", even
If
the percentage of
error In the readings Is very low.
Circumference =2030 mm
Radius = 323 mm
-105 -
One degree
(of
great
circle)
= ,6 mm
Tropics
and polar circles have not a
constant
dIstance from
the
equatQr. For
Instance,
the circle of ever visible
stars
varies from 314 mm
to
329 mm,
and
the
tropic of
CaprIcorn
varies
from
138
mm to
146 mm. In order to f ind
the
theorlc
mean
circle
which annuls
the
discrepancIes
of the sculpture
I have calculated a
weighted mean assigning
to
the
value along
the colures mQre
reliabIlity.
Tropic
of
Cancer
=
25
30'
N
Tropic of
Capricorn =
25 06' S
Obliquity
of
the ecliptic = 25 18'
(2351'
In the
Almagest)
Ever visible circle = 6
43'
N (horizon for qJ = 317')
Never vIsible circle = 552(,' S (horizon for qJ:: 3434')
Right ascension of
the
Aries' horn
=
5 09' (307' from the Almagest)
The
same value on the Autumnal point = 5 19'
Width of the
Zodiac
=1 3 29'
SUMMARY
The object of my research Is the celestial sphere supported on the shoulders
of
the
so called
Atlante
Farnese. We are dealing with a well known piece quite
often cited here
and there but, In spite of Its fame, It has
only
been studied
once
since Its
modern
appearance
In Rome In
the
middle of
the 16th century. The
Importance
of
the celestial sphere has been
undervalued
In the last
two
centuries due to the scant
attention
paid to It and to
the
lack of any serious
study.
The
present
contribution
Is divided
Into three parts. The first
Is
devoted to a
brief
commemoration
of
the forgotten father
of
the history
of
globes and
their
makers, Matteo Florlnl.
The
second one provides a hlstorlographlcal account on
the Farnese Atlas
starting from the
1695 examination by J.D. Casslnl and F.
Blanchlnl.
Then I present
my
latest observations,
true
measures of
the
rings,
the
position
of the
constellations
ond a passible attribution.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I wish
to
express my
gratitude
to the Soprlntendenza
Archeologlca
at Naples
for
the permIssion
to
study the
Atlas.
I also
thank Renata
Cantllena, Director
of
the Archaeological Museum of Naples,
for
more
than enthusiastic
support
to
my
study; Antonlo
Russo, consegnee
at
the
same Museum, and
Blaglo Glacola,
attached
to
the library
of the
Soprlntendenza
who
made
any
effQrt to
make
easy my work.
Invaluable
help
I received In the Blblloteca Nazlonale of Naples which Is
extraordinarily
rich In
any
field of study.
Marla
Grazla Pasquallttl and
Anna
marla RQmano, Director and
Vice-director
respectively,
allowed
me
to handle
rare
material.
Patrlzla Nocera,
as
falrl ly
as
usual, was of
great support
' ln biblio
graphical researches. I owe to
the
kindness of Anna BIIII,
of
the
Brancacclana
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-106
-
section of
the
Library)
Information on the periodicals
of
the Academle des
Sciences.
Translations from latln are due to the patience of my wife Costanza Glala
nella and
to
the acumen
of
Francesco Brescla, any error
In
the meaning remains
mine.
Last I want to point out
that
all the bibliographical material collected and
discussed In the
footnotes
has been found In Neapolitan libraries which
consti
tute
a tremendous heritage of
our
National
history.
NOTES
( 1) Florlnl's biography appeared In Coslmo BERTACCHI, Geografl ed
esploratorl Itallanl contemporanel
(Mllano 1929), 93-104. Unfortunately
there
Is
no mention
of
his works on old globes, basic attention having been
paid to his fundamental studies on map projections.
( 2) Matteo FIORINI, Le
projezlonl
delle carte
geograflche
(Bologna 1881 ),
text
+ atlas with
11
tables.
( 3) Matteo FIORINI) Le
sfere cosmograflche
e speclalmente
le sfere terrestrl.
In: BoIlettlno della
Societe Geograflca Itallana
(1893)
862-888
and (1894)
121-131,271-281,331-349,415-435.
( 4) Slegmund GONTHER) Erd- und Hlmmelsgloben, Ihre Geschlchte und Kon
struktlon. Nach dem Itallenlschen
Matteo Florlnl frel
bearbeltet (Leipzig
1895).
(
5)
Matteo
FIORINI,
Sfere
terrestrl
e
celestl dl autore Itallono oppure
fatte
0
conservate In Italla (Roma 1899) . ..
( 6) Recently Peter VAN DER KROGT, Old Globes In the Netherlands. A cata
'Iogue
of terrestrial
and
celestial
globes made prior
to
1850 and preserved
In
Dutch collections
(Utrecht 1984)
unaware of
Florlnl's
work
- In
fact
he
does not mention It either In the literature or In
the
preface where he
speaks
of
the
"Inventory per
country" - only refers
to
Stevenson's book
as
the
first
Inventory
of
pre 1800 globes.
On
the contrary, see the quotations
from
Stevenson referred
to
In
my note 8.
( 7) Edward Luther STEVENSON, Terrestrial and Celestial Globes.
Their history
and
construction
Including a consideration
of
their value as aids In the
study
of
geography
and
astronomy,
2 vols.
(New
Haven 1921,
reprint
New
York and London 1971).
( 8) STEVENSON, Terrestrial and Celestial Globes 1: xx (note 7).
(
9)
FIORINI,
Sfereterrestrl
e
celestl 9-23 (note 5).
STEVENSON, Terrestrial
and Celestial Globes 1 :
15 (note 7).
(10)
The
modern
history
of
the
Atlas
and Its
finding are
rather
complicated.
We
don't know exactly
when and
where
It
was discovered we
only certainly
know
that
Cardinal Alessandro Farnese
bought It from the antiquarian
Paolo del
Bufalo
on February 27, 1st.2
as It
Is recorded In a
document
referred to
In
Documentl Inedltl per servlre alia storla
del Musel
d'ltalla,
4
vols. (Roma
1878-1880),
1 :
for
that
document
see also
Rodolfo
LANCIANI,
Storla
degll scavl dl Roma e notlzle
Intorno
le
collezlonl
romane
dl antlchlte, 4 vols. (Roma
1902-1913),
2 : 163. Since Its famous owner
It
(11)
(12)
(13)
(14)
(15)
(16)
(17)
-107
-
has been
called "Atlante
Farnese". I also think the
first description of
the
FarneseAtlas may be recognised In
Stefano
Wlnandus PIGHIUS, Hercules
Pradlclus,
seu principIIs luventutls
vlta et peregrlnatlo
(Antwerpen 1587),
360-361;
Plghlus
(1520-1604)
saw
the
Atlas In
15
.75
during
his
tour
through
Italy accompanying the son
of
the Duke de Cleves. In the
de
scription he
made
of the Atlas Is
said
that
It
was "In vlnea Stephanl
Buballj
repertam" (discovered In '
the
property
of Stefano del Bufalo)
and the
Farnese Atlas -
as
we have seen - was sold by Paolo del Bufalo. Is It only a
coincidence
of
family
names?
Anyway,
It
Is
certainly Incorrect the
opinion
of
Raymond VINCENT, Les Antiques. In: Le Palals Farnese, 3 vols. (Rome
1981), 2 : 335-336 who recognise In
the
bust of Atlas described by
Aldrovandl
(see
my
note 22)
the
actual Farnese
Atlas
and gives
as
a
lost
piece the sculpture sold
to
the Farnese In 1562. It
Is
just the contrary. The
confusion among
the two
atlases (the bust and
the
Farnese one)
dates
1879 (see DocumenU
Inedltl, 2:
v-vI).
Glovannl
Battlsta
PASSERI,
Atlas
Farneslanus marmoreus Inslgne
vetustatls
monumentum commentarlo (Flrenze 1750),80 p.ages + 6 plates.
PASSERI, Atlas Farneslanus 6 (note 11). The volume
Is
the third of Thesau
rus Gemmarum
Antlquarum
Astrlferarum,
edited by Anton
Francesco GORI.
"The
celebrated Casslnl astronomer of the Christian king of France",
PASSERI, Atlos Farneslanus 78
(note 11).
News on the Casslnl's
voyage
through Italy are recorded In Bernard de FONTENELLE, Eloges des Acade
mlclens
morts
de puis 1718 jusq'en 1739. In: Oeuvres de Monsieur de F
onte
nelle (Paris 1742), 5:
322-365
esp. 358 ("En 1695 M. Casslnl f1t un voyage
en
Italle")i
and In Jacques CASSINI, Observations astronomlques
faltes
dans
les voyages de France
et d'ltalle
en 1694, 1695 and 1696. In:
Hlstolre
de
I'Academle Royale des Sciences 7 (1729) esp. 497
where
the young Casslnl
wrlt.es "nous e Rome le 29 Mars".
"Blanchlnl
pramlsed
to
publish a
complete
book on
the
globe", PASSERI,
Atlas
Farneslanus 78
(note 11).
.
Francesco BIANCHINI, La
Istorla
Unlversale provata
con monumentl,
e
flgurato con slmboll degll antlchl (Roma 1(97), chapter 28
titled
"Espe
dlzlonl mllltarl In Colchlde, e In Troja con vantaggl, non tanto degll statl dl
Grecla, quanto
degll
studj
piu gravl". The work was reprinted by
Antonlo
Gluseppe BARBAZZA (Roma 1747) who
re-engraved
the lost plates of the
first edition whose author was
the
famous engraver Pier Sant Bartoll
(
1635-1700).
BIANCHINI, La Istorla Unlversale (second edition) 367 (note 15). Details
of
the constellations ore reproduced throughout the
book: Orlon
253,
Bootes
284, Aquarius 296, Argo 309, Aries, Taurus and Perseus 353.
It
Is
curious -
to
note
that there
Is
no
trace
of
the
Fornese Atlas In
the
most
Important
collection
of antiquities
published In Rome In the last quarter
of
the 16th century: Glovan Battlsta de' CAVALlERI, Antlquarum
statuarum
urbls Romae, 2 vols. (Roma
1585-1594) with
200 Images most
of them
token from the Farnese collection.
Sclplone MAFFEI, La Verona lIIustrata (Verona 1731),
reprinted
In BIAN
CHINI, La Istorla Unlversale (1747, my note 15), In which Maffel speaks
about a manuscript "sopra globo dl marmo che
51
conserva In Palazzo
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108-
Farnese: Globus Farneslanus,
& in
eo rudlmenta
Astronomlae,
chronologlae,
&
Hlstorla
aetatls Herolcae,
a Graecls ad nos transmlssa"; and Alessandro
MAZZOLENI, Vlta dl Monsignor Francesco Blanchlnl Veronese (Verona
1735),125.
(18) The
existence of
the
manuscript In
the Blblloteca Capltolare Is
,
given by
FIORINI,
Sfere terrestrl
e
celestl 11
(note 5), who
presented
and discussed
Its contents.
I thank
the Direction af the Blblloteca Capltolare at
Verona
for the
kindness In
supplying
me a
complete microfilm of the
manuscript
(Cod. Ms.
CCCLXXV).
(19)
Martin
Folkes was born
October
29, 1690.
At the
. age of
twentythree he
was admitted a
fellow
of the Royal
Society.
In 1723, the president, Sir
Isaac
Newton,
appointed him one of his vice-presidents and was
similarly
honoured by
Newton's successor
Sir
Hans
Sloane.ln
1741
Sir
Hans resigned
the presidency, and Folkes was unanimously elected In his place. In 1750 he
was president of the
Society of
Antiquaries and died on
28th
June 1754.
During
his
tour
In
Italy
In
the
years
1733-35 he examined many
of
the
best
furnished cabinets of the Country. In that occasion he paid a
visit
to the
Farnese Palace In Rome
with
Its extraordinary
collection
of
antiquities.
(20)
M. Manllll Astronomlcon
ex recensione et cum
notls Rlchardl
Bentlell
(London 1739).
(21) Georg THIELE,
Antlke Hlmmelsbllder. Mlt
Forschungen zu
Hlpparchos,
Aratos und
selnen
F ortsetzern
und
Beltragen
zur Kunstgeschlchte des
Sternhlmmels (Berlin 1898), 27, f ig. 5
with
the caption "Foulkes' nach
GlpsabguB angefertlgte Zelchnung". Pages 19-42 are
devoted
to the de
scription
of
the Atlante
Farnese
of
which
he
also
reproduces nine
Images.
See also
Frltz
SAXL, La
fede negll astrl (Torlno
1985),
f ig.
138.
(22). Deborah J. WARNER, The Sky Explored. Celestial
Cartography 1500-1800
(Amsterdam 1979), 278-279.
The
author
also. finds
stylistic similarities
between
Blaeu's
globe of 1616-22
and
the
Farnese
globe, similarities
which
I
cannot recognise.
She deeper discusses
about
It In the
description
of the
1616 Blaeu globe
(30-31).
The
Information
given In the
note
are
not
correct:
the Atlas was bought In 1562 and
not
from
Bernardlno
de' Fab"
(see my note 10).
Furthermore,
the
description by
UlIsse ALDROVANDI(
Delle Statue Antlchl
(Roma
1550)
appended
to
Luclo MAURO,
Antlchlta
della
cltta
dl Roma (Roma 1556), she uses as a reference,
Is
referred to a
"busto grande dl atlante
senza braccla, ne
vlso"
(great
bust of
atlas,
armless and wanting
the face) which
can hardly be
alike
the Farnese Atlas;
see THIELE,
Antlke Hlmmelsbllder
20 and
f ig.
1
taken from the Codex
Plghlanus (note 21).
(23) "The
stlmated Sir Martin
F olkes,
very
learned In
every
art as
well as
In
mathematics, brought from
Rome a
very carefully
made
relief
copy
(ectypum) of the
globe and
due to
his
peculiar humanity he kindly commu
nicated to us for promoting historical studies", BENTLEY, M. Manllll Astro
nomlcon
xv-xvi
(note 20).
(24) "In order that the craftsman did not
fall
In describing It he (Folkes) himself
drew the table very exactly from his model", BENTLEY, M. Manllll
Astron
nomlcon
xvi
(note 20).
(25) "Since
any
circle
on
the
sphere remains a circle on
the projection
It
Is
(26)
(27)
(28)
(30)
(31)
(32)
(33)
(34)
-
109-
particularly useful In
graphical
solutions In f ield
astronomy", quoted
from
J.A. STEERS, An
Intraductlon
to the Study of
Map Prajectlons. 15th ed.
(Landon 1970) 52.
On the
knowledge
In ancient world o f
stereographlc
projection and Its use
see OUo NEUGEBAUER, A
History of Ancient Mathematical Astronomy,
3
vals. (Berlln/Heldelberg/New York 1975),2:
868-879.
We
know that
Folkes
was
In
Sir
Hans Sloane's consideration and
friend of
him and successor In the presidency
o f
th Royal SOCiety (see my note 19).
The
Sloane
copy
of
the
Farnese
globe
Is
a
drawing
on a sphere
now
kept
In
the British Library (Maps G.30). Unfortunately, I was not able to
get
any
Information
on that sphere
(diameter,
structure,
age,
nature of
the
drawing, bibliography,
etc.),
I only owe to the kind trouble of Dr.Helen
Wallls three slides of smaller
parts
of the
globe.
In one of
his
we may read
"Ex
Prototyp. Farneslano
cujus
diameter Ped.".
A date Is
Indicated
In A.D. BA YNES-COPE, The Study and Conservation o f
Globes. In:
Der Globusfreund 33-34
(1985)
1-80
esp. 34 and
fig.
5.
The
author reports In
the
figure the date "ca 1750" while In the text he argues
that the Atlante Farnese
facsimile was
"specially
made
In
Italy Co
1740 for
Sir Hans Sloane", but unfortunately he does
not
explain his sources. I only
wonder why Sir Hans should have asked a
copy from
Rome having at his
disposal
the carefully made
lIectypum"
by
his
friend Martin
Folkes.
The
matter needs further studies which may only be carried on In the British
Library and the British Museum.
Benjamln MARTIN,
The description
o f
both
Globes, the
Armlllary Sphere
and
Orrery.
2nd ed. (London
no
date),
esp.
112-113.
I
owe
this
reference
to
the kindness o f
Mr. Rudolf
Schmldt.
Martin
says
that the globe
"Is
12
Inches In
Diameter" which Is about 31
centlmenters
while the actual radius o f the globe Is
about
32
centlmenters
and
the true
value o f
the
precession
on the
sphere
Is about
5
08'
(see
Appendix 11).
.
Martin uses for his calculations the value o f
71
years
per
degree of
preces
sion
but it Is
not
historically correct
to use
modern acquisitions and tools to
understand
the
past. He also falls In positioning the activity of Hlpparchus
around
the middle
of
the 4th century
B.C.,
while
It
Is
- and
certainly was in
Martin's time - well known Hlpparchus was
active
in
the
2nd
century
B.C.;
these make
wrong all Martin's conclusions.
Johann Joachlm WINCKELMANN, Monumentl Antlchl Ineditl splegatl ed
Iltustratl (Roma 1767), 1 : 12, 273. ,
Jerome de
LALANDE,
Voyage d'un
en
Italle
fa i t dans les annees
1765 & 1766,8 vols. (Paris 1769), 4 : 162-163. Speaking of the atlas he says
"ce globe est tres
remarquable
par
son
antlqulte, c'est le
seul
monument
astronomlque ou Pon
alt trouve
les
constellations
a
la manlere
des
Anciens;
M. Blanchlnl a
fa i t
graver ce globe
avec
un commentalre
interessant".
The
astronomer
Lalande
was
one of
the
few who
knew
the Blanchlnl's
study
and the
Images of
the
Farnese
Atlas.
Nlcolos HALMA, Composition Mathematlque de Claude
Ptolemee,
tradulte
pour la
premiere
fols
du
grec en sur
les
manuscrlts orlglneaux de
la Blbliotheque Imperlale de Paris (Paris 1813), 1 : esp. LV.
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-
110-
(35) A
description
of
the Important
coin
of
Antonlnus Plus appeared In Paolo
Alessandro MAFFEI, Gemme antichi figurate, 3 vols. (Roma 1707-09),
3:
191-206, esp. 203; Maffel, who dates the coin 158 A.D., reproduces In a
beautiful engravIng
the
two
faces
of the cain which
was
kept
In
the
personal museum of
Marcantonlo
Sabbatlnl. Then Francesco Blanchlnl
related for the first time the coin to the
Farnese
Atlas
(see my notes
55-57). One of. the copies now In the
Cabinet
des Medallles
at
the
Blbllo
theque Natlondle
of
Paris Is described In Henry COHEN, Description hlsto
rlque des monnols frappees sous
l'Emplre
Romaln
(reprint
Leipzig
1930),2:
3l.l.-367;
I
owe
this reference
to
the kindness
of
Renata Cantllena.
Recently spoke
of
the coin and reproduced It Glorglo T ABARRONI, La
poslzlone degll equlnozl sulla
sfera
dell ' Atlante Farnese. In: Co.elum 24
(1956)
169-174,
esp. 173 and fig. 4.
(36) The second volume
of
the French translation of the Almagest (see my note
34) was publ ished In 1816 and bears the
portrait of
the
new
kind
to which
the
book
Is dedicated.
(37) On
the transport of the
Farnese collection
to
Naplessee
A.
Gonzales
PA
LACIOS,
trasporto
delle
statue
farneslane do Roma a Napoll. In: Antologla
dl Belle
Artl
6 (1978). 168-174. The Atlas reached Naples only In 1800
having
been ten years In the workshop
of Carlo
AlbacJnl In Rome
who
was
encharged of the
restoration of
the sculptures before the shipment
to
Naples, see Alfonso de FRANCISCIS, Restaurl dl
Carlo
AlbacJnl a statue del
Museo Nazlondle
dl
Napoll. In: Samnlum 19 (1946) 96 and following.
(38) A photograph
of
a
copy
now In a private
collection at
Vienna has been
graciously sent
me
from
Mr. Rudolf Scnmldt already thanked
In
my
note
7:'1. No
copy of that porcelain Is
so
far recorded
In Naples.
(39) :rhe
first
guide Is by GloVambattJsta FINA TI,
Jl
regal Museo
Bornlco
(Napoll
1817),
2 1264-267,
of which
several edlUons appeared In the
19th
(2nd ed.
In
.1819), Francesco ALVINO, Descrlptlon .des monuments les plus
Interessants du Musee Royal Bourbon (Napoll 1841), 128.
An
enlarged
description 'by the same FINA TI appeared .n: Real Museo Borbonlco (Napoll
1829) 5 I tab. 52 with four poges
of
comment. The same copperplate was
reproduced
by Francesco GARGIULO, Recuell des Monumens les plus
Interessans du Musee National de Naples (Napoll no date). The list may
well continue as
.the
Atlas Is
obviously
mentioned In
any
Italian
and
foreign
guides up
to
our days.
(40) The
title,
graphically Inserted within a large sphere on the shoulders of
Atlas, Is "Atlante dl Geografla
Moderna In 30
carte dell'Abbate Lulgl
Galantl dellneato
da Glosue Russo Ingegnere Geografo", Napoll
1834-36.
The frontispiece Is reproduced In Vladlmlro VALERIO, Atlantl Napoletanl
del Dlclannoveslmo secolo,
1806-1860 (NapoIl1980),
flg.5.
(41) Francesco INGHIRAMI,
Monumentl
Etruschl e dl
altre
antlche Nazlonl
(Flesole 1825), 6 : 9-11, and Monumentl Etruschl che servono dl corredo a
tutta l'Opera
(Flesole 182&),
figs. T,
U, V, X. The four plates
are
drawn
from Passe rI's Images but the author cancels Inadvertltely the precession
and
slmplyfles the figures.
(42) E. GERHARD, Th. PANOFSKA, Neopels antlke Blldwerke
(Stuttgart/Tubln
gen 1828),98.
- 111 -
(43) Francesco DENZA, Globl
celestl della
Specola
Vatlcana.
In:
Publlcazlonl
della Specola
Vatlcana
4 (1894) xvII-xxIII, esp.
xxi-xxIII where the
author
reports
a
description
sent
to
him by Modestlno
DEL
GAIZO. The Inclusion
of
the Farnese Atlas description
Is
due
to
the presence In the Specola
Vmlcana
of two plaster
copies
of the celestial
sphere.
(44) THIELE,
Antlke
Hlmmelsbllder 19-42 (note 21).
(45) Richard H1NCKLEY ALLEN, Star names
their
Lore and Meaning (New
York
1963, unabridged
republication of the
work
first
published In 1999 under
the
tit le
"Stars-names
and
their
Meaning"),
42.
According
the author the
globe
Is
"supposed
to
be a
copy of
the sphere
of
Eudoxus, and perhaps
antedating
Ptolemy".
(46) Franz BOLL, Sphaera. Neue grlechische Texte und Untersuchungen zur
Geschlchte der
Sternbllder
(Leipzig 1903), 118, 130, 146, 242.
(47) STEVENSON, Terrestrial and Celestial Globes
1 :
15
(note
7).
(48)
Lloyd
A. BROWN,
The Story of
Maps
(New York
1979,
first
edition 1949),
34; he also states
that the
globe is
two
meters "In diameter"
(read "cir
cumference")
and, a few lines below
"It
may have been built by or
for
Eudoxus".
(49) Antolne DE SMET, Exposition de Globes dans le cadre du IIle Symposium
International
de la Federation
Mondlale
Coronelll
des Amls du Globe
et
de
la IIle Conference
Internatlonale d'Hlstolre
de la
Cartographie
(Bruxelles
1969), 1. De Smet also says
that
11 pourret s'aglr de la cople d'un original
grec
plus ancien".
(SO)
Alols FAUSER, Kulturgeschlchte des Globus (Munchen 1973), 36-39 with
one
figure.
(51) WARNER, The Sky Explored 278
(note 22).
(52) Germalne AUJAC, La geografla nel mondo antlco (Napoll 1984, enlarged
and
updated edition of
"La geographle dans le monde
antique",
Paris 1975),
39.
(53) Oscar A.
W.
DILKE, Greek
and
Roman Maps
(Ithaca,
N. Y. 1985), 22, 146;
though In the
footnootes
he makes the only
reference of
Stevenson In
figure 7 (showing the Atlas) he adds the dates
"1st-2nd
century AD" and
doesn't explain elsewhere In the text the
source which contradicts
Stevenson; Stevenson dated It 300 years
before
Christ (see my note 47).
(54)
Italian publications are marked by Fiorlnl's work:
Angelo TACCONE,
Atlan
tee
In: Enclclopedla
ltallana5
(1930) 208;
Roberto
ALMAGIA, Globo. In:
EncJclopedla Itallana 17 (1933) 425; Glorgio T ABARRONI, Globl celesti
sulle
monete
romane. In: Coelum 24 (1956) 7-17, esp.
9-11 and
fig. 1;
Glovannl Battlsta LACCHINI, Atlante Celeste. 4th ed. (Faenza 1969), 8;
among
the Italian
I
dare
recall Hans
G. GUN
DEL,
Zodiaco.
In: Enciclopedia
dell 'arte antlca
classlca e
orlentale
7 (1966)
1274-1286,
esp. 1278,
the
head word provides a very detailed study with a large bibliography
at
the
end.
Out of Italy we may
cite
Edward HEIS, Atlas Coelestls Novus (Koln 1872),
vIII; Hels traced the Image of the constellations following the Atlante
Farnese he had the occasion
to
see In 1859 in
the
Archeological Museum at
Naples.
(55) Froncesco BlANCH1Nl, Globus Farnesianus et In eo Rudlmenta Astronomlae,
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(56)
(57)
(58)
(59)
(60)
(61)
- 1 12 -
Chronologlae,
&
Hlstorla
Aetatls
Herolcae, a Graecls ad nos transmlssa.
In:
Gluseppe
BIANCHINI
(ed.), Demonstratlo Hlstorlae Eccleslastlcae
Quadrl
partltala comprobatae monumentls
pertlnentlbus
ad fidem temporum et
gestorum
(Roma 1752) 2 : 997-1184 with
seven
figures In six plates.
The
chapter
clevoted to
the
"Globus Forneslanus" opens with a
short preface
by
Gluseppe Blanchlnl who calls to mind
that
flftyfour
years
elapsed
since his
uncle
promised In his Istorla Unlversale to publish a study on
the
globe
(see
my note
15).
FIORINI,
Sfere terrestrl
e
celestl
12
(note
5) says
that I
posterl
con
mol
to
accorglmento
non si azzardarono a pubbllcarla
per
non
recare oltragglo
alia memor ia d.el Blanchlnl" (poster iors dare not publish It for not offending
the
memory
of
Blanchlni),
thus
the work was not published because
the
Incompleteness
of the manuscript. The same
opinion
expresses
T ABARRO
NI, Globl celestl 10.
"Just the
same
sculpture, If I am not wrong", BIANCHINI, Globus
Farneslanus 1008
(note
55);
here
Blanchlnl
dates the
coin
157-158
corresponding
to the twentieth "Trlbunlcla Potestatls of Antonlnus Plus.
F
or
Its
dating see
also my
note
35.
There Is
a
perfect correspondance between
Aratus' poem ond
relative
positions
of
constellations. The globe amends some oversights of Aratus,
among them the confusion between right
and
left
foot of
the Man kneeling
which Is
under the head of
Draco:
see
Aratus verses 69-70.
The mistake
was
first remarked by Hlpparchus In his
Commentary on
Aratusj for the
argument
and
other related topics
see ARA TO DI
SOLI, Fenomenl e
pronostlcl (Flrenze 1948),
translated
and
annotated
by Gluseppe ZANNONI,
vII-xxvi, 48-71,
esp.
51-52. Also Germanlcus corrected and Improved
'Aratus
l
poem In his Latin translation and called Libra the Chaelae of
Scorpio.
BIANCHINI, Globus Farneslanus 1020
(note
55).
On
the
precession
see the last
authoritative words
of
Otto NEUGEBAUER,
A History
of
Ancient
Mathematical
Astronomy, 3 vols.
(Berlln/Heldelberg/
New York 1975) , 1 : 54, 292-298 where he also Introduces
the
spurious
theory of
"trepidation",
and
2 :
593 l.00 where
a discussion on various
norms
for the
Vernal
paint are
dlscussedJ2:
631-634
are again devoted
to
the
trepidation
of the
Equinoxes.
J.L.E. DREYER, A history of
the
Planetary System from Tholes
to
Kepler
(Cambridge 1906) was surprised by
the fact
that a so
great
discovery did
not become soon universally known; see the
last
Italian edition, Storla
dell'astronomla do Talete a Keplero. 2nd. ed. (Mllano 1977), 185-186.
PTOLEMY
speaks about the
precession
In
Almagest VII, 2
and 3.
Of no help
In this
respect
Is
Robert
R. NEWTON,
The
Crime
of
Claudius
Ptolemy
(Johns Hopklns UniverSity
Press
1977).
The
author trys to bring Into
disre
pute the
whole work by
Ptolemy,
though
we
may find misleading
the way
of
using modern awareness, data and tools to find (and stress) scientific
errors or
- we would
better say
- what
we
think be
error
In
the past.
BlANCH
1Nl,
Globus Farneslanus 1030-1031
(note
55). The
coordinates
given by
Ptolemy
to
the
more
advanced of the
2 stars on
the
horn"
of
Aries
are
6
40'ln
longitude and 7 20'ln latitude; these lead according to
(62)
(63)
(64)
(65)
(66)
(67)
-113 -
Blanchlnl
to
3
15' of
right ascension
and to
3 07' 11" only according
to
Florlnl. The slight difference comes from
the
different Inclination
of the
ecliptic
adopted by
the two authors:
23 30' by Blanchlnl and 23
51'
by
Florlnl. The latter, more correctly, used the value given In the Almagest
I,
12.
The use of
ecllptlcal
system Is
explained
by PTOLEMY In Almagest VII, 4
and
Is
justified by the fact
that
latitudes don't vary and only longltudes
Increase
proportionally
to the time elapsed
between two
observations
(I.e.
the
value
of the
precession).
Thqt
marble
was sculptured and given to Antonlnus Plus as ornament to
his library
together
with
the catalogue of
fixed stars by
Ptolemy, just
calculated for the time of his reign", BIANCHINI, Globus Farneslanus 1039
(note 55).
The
globe does
not seem
to
me
that
"donne une Image Immobile du clel",
as
stated In
Germalne
AUJAC, La symbollque des du monde en
Grece anclenne.
In: Imago
et
Mensura Mundl. Attl del
IX
Congresso
Internazlonale dl Storla della Cartografla, 1981 Plsa (Roma 1985), 1 : 433-
441,
esp.
436.
The
presence
of the
precession, for
the
first
time registered
on a globe, makes the sky and the so called fixed stars definitely
alive.
My
first
approach
to
the Atlante
Farnese
was
In the occasion
of the exhibit
of the sculpture In
Paris;
see Costanza
GIALANELLA
and
Vladlmlro VALE
RIO, Atlas Farnese. In: Cartes et Figures de la Terre (Paris 1980), 84. An
Italian translation appeared In the catalogue Itlnerarlo Farneslano. Le
sculture Farnese
del Museo dl Napoll (Napoll 1982),24-25.
On
the
numerous Individual problems posed by
the star
catalogue we
may
see the
aged
but
stili the best
treatment of the
catalogue
as
a whole by
Christian H.F. PETERS and Edward B. KNOBEL, Ptolemy's Catalogue of
Stars. A revision
of
the Almagest (Washington 1915), esp. 7-15;
at
page 15
we read The comparison
of
the longltudes
of zodiacal
stars only
for
A.D.
100 shows a
mean error of +
34'.9,
equivalent to
42
years,
making
the true
epoch of Ptolemy's
Catalogue
A.D. 58, which Is not very dissimilar
to
A.D.
63
adopted by Bode".
See
also for
an update treatment of the star
catalogue and Its sources NEUGEBAUER, A History of Ancient Mathemtlcal
Astronomy 1 :
280-288 (note 60),
where
he
refuses
the
trivial assumption
that Ptolemy's catalogue derived by Hlpparchus only adding 2 40' to the
longltudes,
and
G.J. TOOMER,
Ptolemy's
Almagest. Translated and
annotated
by G.J. T
oomer
(London 1984),
1-26,
esp. 14-17.
For the value adopted by PTOLEMY see Almagest
I,
12 and the notes by
TOO
MER,
Ptolemy's
Almagest
61-63 (note (5).
For
other
ancient values
see
NEUGEBAUER, A History
of
Ancient
Mathematical
Astronomy 349, 582,
772 (for
a
reference
to
Strabo), 844 (to
Vltruvlus)
and
889
(note
(0).
Just
to have an
Idea
of the epoch
which
the
precession
of the Farnese
Globe well fits we may run the same calculus used by BlANCH 1Nl, Globus
Farneslanus 1032-1033 (note 55). The value of 5 09'
of
right ascension
of
Aries give about 8 48' of
longitude
against 6 40' registered In the
Almagest. According to Flamsteed's catalogue for 1690 the longitude of
the same
star Is
28 51'; thus
the
difference between
the
two
observations
Is 20 03' which means, In time,
1424
years - using a
precession
of 71
years
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- 114 -
per
degree.
The value of
the
precesslon reglstered on the globe
Is referred
to
about 2 A.D.
I
don't belleve
at all the epoch calculated In such a crude way may be
correct. I
thlnk the displacement of
the colure has been
necessarlly
exag
gerated, otherwlse the equator, the ecllptlc and the colure
rlsked
to joln In
a
too
IIttle triangle, confused In
the
thlckness of
the marbel
clrcles.
(&8) The horlzon of mlddle Phoenlcla gets partlcular value In the
Almagest
(XIII,
7-10)
where PTOLEMY refers all his da a of planetary phases to "one
Intermediate
latltude
of
the
Medlterranean
area,
I.e.
to the latltude
of
Phoenlcla
where the longest day
Is
the mean value"
between
Alexan
dria and ROdhes, quoted from NEUGEBAUER, A HIstory of Anclent Mathe
matlcal
Astronomy
1 : 234 (note &0).
Accordlng
to Ptolemy,
latltude
of
Mlddle Phoenlcla Is 33 18' north, see the Almagest 11 6 In partleukir the
descrlptlon of the tenth parallel whlch goes through the mlddle of
Phoenlcla.
(6'1) HINCKLEY ALLEN, Star names 270 (note 45) attributes
to
Gemlnus
and
Varro
the
first dlstlnctlon of
Balance from
the Chaelae of
Scorplo.
(70) In
Almagest
VII, 3 we find a
list
of
18
stars
('1 per
hemlsphere) wlth thelr
decllnatlon recorded by
Arlstyllos-
Tymocharls, by Hlpparchus and by hlm
self.
It must
be noted
that
not all
of
them
agree wlth the acutal position
In
the Farnese globe -
even If
we
have
to conslder the
dlfflculty
to locate
exactly the
position of
the
stars In
the
constellatlons - but It
Is
a matter of
fact that
Splca
(the
left hand
of
Vlr.go)
Is
south to the equator.
(71) See my note &8.
It
Is also the ca
se to remlnd
the sound advlce of NEUGE
BAUER, A
HIstory
of
Anclent Mathematlcal Astronomy
2 :
733 (note
&0)
who observes -the tendency
to adjust
emplrlcal da
a
to numerologlcal
speculatlons In early Greek geography. As an example
he
quotes
the
definition of
the terrestrlal zones by GemlnusJ the terrestrlal quadrant
Is
dlvlded Into
three
zones whlch are
4/15,5/15
and 6/15 (earth's quadrant
supposed to be composed of 15 parts). The first flgure leads to
the troplc
(I.e. 24), the
boundary
between the second and the thlrd
falls
just
at
54
north whlch becomes the
position
of the arctlc clrcle.
Neugebauer
concludes that the clrcumstance "may weil be the
real
cause of
the Impor
tance
of = 3& In
later
geography
and
astronomy, rather than any
relation to Hlpparchus or
to
Rodhes".
(72) TOOMER, Ptolemy's Almagest 15 (note 65).
ZUM
KARTEN BILD UND
ZU
BERECHNUNGSMGLICHKEITEN
AN DER HIMMELSKUGEL DES FARNESISCHEN ATLAS
Vladlmlro Valerlo
Vorausgeschickt wird, da die erste wirklich
universelle
Beschreibung
lte
rer Erd- und Himmelsgloben
von
Florlnl (1827-1'101), Professor an
der Universi
tt Bologna, vorgelegt worden Ist. Florlnl hat nicht nur
ber die historische
Ent
wicklung von Projektionen
gearbeitet,
sondem auch zwischen 18'13 und 18'18
mit
Hilfe eines Formulares; das
an
Italienische Bibliotheken, Archive und an
private
Sammler
gesandt wurde, Informationen ber Globen
gesammelt. Uber
die Ergebnisse wurden 18'13 und 1894 Im
"Bollettlno
della Socletd GeografIca
Itallana"
berichtet,
S.
Gnther
hat 18'15 eine deutsche (verbesserte) Auflage
-115 -
dieses Artikels herausgegeben, die meist als "Florln
l-Gnther"
bezeichnet
wird.
erschien dann das groe
Buch
''Sfere
terrestrl
e
celestl dl
auto e Itallano
oppure fatte
0 conservate In Italla", das erste Buch seiner Art, das auch mehr Ist
als ein Katalog der-lri Italien erhaltenen Globen. Stevenson bezieht sich Immer In
seinem bekannten
Buch
"T
errestrlal
and
Celestlal
Globes"
auf
Florlnl, dessen
WIssensstand er In vielem nicht verbessert
hat.
Heute wird Stevenson viel fters
zitiert als
Florlnl.
Dies ungeachtet der
Tatsache,
da
z.B. Florlnl
15 Selten dem
FarnesIschen Atlas widmet, Stevenson nur 16
Zellen.
So Ist es nicht verwunder
lich,
da
hier
besonders
auf
Florlnls
Plon
l
ertat
hingewiesen
wird.
Dem
Problemen
des Fameslschen Atlasses auf
die
Spur zu
kommen
Ist auf
vielerlei
Art
mglich. Zwei Mglichkeiten kristallisieren sich heraus: Eine
stilisti
sche -
ber die
mir leider
keine
grundlegenden Forschungen
vorliegen
- un d eine
astronomische,
der Ich In meiner Kompetenz folgen will. Stilistischer und
astronomischer
Befund mssen aber mit
einander
verbunden sein, will man
die
Zelt der Herstellung der Skulptur
bestimmen.
Betrachtet
man
die Darstellung
der Sternbilder auf dem Globus, so scheint eine Herstellung nicht spter als das
erste Jahrhundert
v.Chr.
richtig. Nun wurde, seit
die
Skulptur In
der Mitte
des
1&. Jhdts. ausgegraben wurde, der Farnesische Atlas nur einmal grndlich
studiert, wie
man aus der Vielzahl von Verffentlichungen
entnehmen kann.
In
den letzten zwei
Jahrhunderten
wurde die Bedeutung der
Darstellung
auf
dem
Himmelsglobus
unterschtzt,
je es
gibt
sogar
Unterschiede
bel der
Bestimmung
der
Zahl der
dargestellten Sternbilder. Die
vorliegende Arbeit
soll nur
ein
Beginn
fr
weitere
Untersc:hungen sein, mit dem Ziel,
nicht nur die Bibliographie
aufzuarbeiten, sondern
eine
detail l ierte Beschreibung der
Himmelskugel
zu
erarbeiten.
Generell
gilt
Passerls
"Atlas
Farneslanus" als
erster, bester
und
systematischer Bericht ber die
Skulptur. Dies
stimmt
nicht, sogar Passerl hat In
seinem Vorwort auf eine vorherige
Untersuchung
von Blanchlnl verwiesen, der
bel dieser Untersuchung vom berhmten Casslnl begleitet war (16'15). Diese
Untersuchung
wurde bereits
16'17
verffentlicht, sie ent hlt das erste
gedruckte
Bild der Skulptur. Blanchlnl verweist auf die Notwendigkeit, einen Astronomen -
Casslnl - zur Untersuchung
zuzuz
iehen. Blanchlnls Tod (172'1) verhinderte das
grundlegenden Beschreibung,
die er voraussichtlich zwischen
1700
- 1720 begonnen hatte. Das Manuskript wird 1731 bzw. 1735 unter den
bel
seinem Tod -
unverffentlichten
Werken
erwhnt,
es l iegt In der Blblloteca
Capltolare In Verona auf.
Dieses Manuskr ipt hatte
keinen
Einflu auf Passerl, der weder die
astrono
mischen Berechnungen
verstand, noch
Blanchlnls historisch es Wissen
hatte. Re
konstruiert man
die
Geschichte
der Beschreibungen des Farnesischen Atlasses,
mu man die beste und Interessanteste zur
Rate
ziehen: eine Zeichnung von
Martln Folkes (16'10-1754); Folkes war eine EInzeierscheinung eines Gelehrten,
der nach einer
Reise -
auf
dieser
war er
vom Farnesischen
Atlas
besonders
beeindruckt
-
zum
Archologen
wurde.
Diese Abbildung erschien 173'1 In
Bentleys Ausgabe des "Astronomieon" des Manllio. (Wird derzeit als
"Anonymus"
von
Deborah Wa
rn er gefhrt). Die
Zeichnung
zeigt den Globus nicht In
Perspektive,
so
wie
das Immer gemacht wurde, sondern In
stereographischer
Projektion. Nur die mathematische Fhigkeit
Folkes'
ermglichte
so eine przise
Darstellung,
eine
Projektion,
die
Kreise In Kreise umsetzt und automorph Ist, fr
astronomische
Zwecke
durchaus geeignet. (Astrolabien basieren auf
stereogra-
-
8/11/2019 Atlas Farnesianus
12/17
-116
-
phlscher
Projektion). Mglicherweise war
Folkes'
Ansicht
von
einem Modell
abgenommen
worden,
das vielleicht ous Gips bestand; davon Ist
nichts erhalten.
Aber
auf
die Genauigkeit kann vielleicht aus Sir Hans Sloane's Kopie des Globus
des Farnesischen Atlasses geschlossen
werden,
die
meiner
Meinung
mit
Folkes'
Muster, dem qectypum", In Verbindung steht. Sioanes Kopie sollte nicht vor
_ Bentley
erwhnt
sie
nicht
- und
nicht
nach dem Tode Folkes'
entstanden
sein.
Durch Folkes
kam der
Farnesische Himmelsglobus nach England, und Martln
erwhnt Ihn und z. B. auch eine Kopie, die
er
bel sich habe, d.h. mehrere
Exemplare
muten In England
Mitte
des 18. Jhdts. vorhanden sein.
Martln macht,
obwohl ber
Durchmesser und Radius Verwirrung
herrscht,
eine sehr gute
Berechnung des Wertes
der
Przession und hlt
et w
'a 50 fest, was 360 Jahre
nach
dem
Zeitpunkt bedeutet,
an dem
der Kolur
Im Punkt
der Tag-
und
Nachtgleiche lag.
Dieser Schlu,
sowie
auch das folgende Herstellungsdatum
"einige
Jahre vor
Christi Geburt"
und
die
Annahme, da
der Kolur der Tag-
und
Nachtgleiche durch
das Horn des Widders 2200 Jahre
vor
seiner
Zelt
(d.
I. etwa
430 v.C