The Invention of the Compass
date: label: Date
content: ca. 1590 or before
name: label: Artist
content: Jan van der Straet, called Stradanus, Flemish, 1523–1605
label: Client
content: Luigi Alamanni, Italian, 1558–1603
label: Publisher
content: Philip Galle, Flemish, 1537 - 1612
notes: label: Catalogue Status
content: Research in Progress
label: Description
content: Recto: A scholar appears seated at a desk in a richly furnished study, using a compass. A low bowl stands in the right foreground, supported by four lion's feet. Over these, four human heads rise, identified as representing the quarters of the globe. A model of a ship hangs from the ceiling. Annotations in Italian throughout.
label: Description
content: Verso: Dutch inscription.
place: label: made in
content: Florence, Italy
label: made in
content: Florence, Tuscany, Italy
setName: label: See more items in
content: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection
label: See more items in
content: Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design Department
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Museum purchase through gift of various donors
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 1901-39-302
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Drawing
label: Type
content: Drawing
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Recto: pen and brown ink, brush and gray and brown wash, with black chalk on laid paper Verso: pen and brown ink on laid paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 10.7 × 14.6 cm (4 3/16 × 5 3/4 in.)