Globes

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     In 1561 Eric XIV ordered that the orb created for his coronation should be engraved as a terrestrial globe. The orb was cast and jeweled by Cornelius ver Weiden, a Flemish goldsmith who had lived in Stockholm since 1551. Franz Beijer, an engraver from Antwerp, produced the engraving. Beijer muddled the geography of the northern hemisphere, engraving much of the detail in reverse. For example, the whole of the Mediterranean Sea is located in Asia, Gibraltar is in the mountains of India, the Red Sea is oriented northeast-south west east of Arabia, the Nile River flows into the Mediterranean in the far east, and the rivers of India empty into northern Africa.

Walter Klinefelter, A Third Display of Old Maps and Plans,
Sumac Press, 1973, p.35-38

SCN 902

The coin below shows Eric XIV holding the orb.

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