The Earth within the Zodiac band

A beautiful celestial chart representing ''The location of the Earth encircled by the celestial circles'', engraved by van Loon. It shows the Earth in relation to the zodiac band (with Cancer to Sagittarius) and horizon lines. On the globe is the eastern hemisphere from the Persian Gulf to the island of California, with the partial outline of Australia and a large 'Terra Australis Incognita' . Around the borders are two allegorical figures of women and cherubs with navigational instruments. This chart was published in the 'Atlas Coelestis; seu Harmonia Macrocosmica', the only celestial atlas to be produced in the Netherlands before the nineteenth century. It was a compilation of maps of the Ptolemaic universe and the more modern theories of Copernicus and Brahe, and remains the finest and most highly decorative celestial atlas ever produced. It was originally published by Jan Jansson in 1660: this chart comes from Schenk & Valk's reissue.