The celestial and terrestrial globes created by Willem Jansz. Blaeu (1571-1638) and restored thanks to support from the Léon Courtin-Marcelle Bouché Fund, were inaugurated on Saturday, 14 September. They now once more adorn the Nottebohm Room of the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library in Antwerp.

These jewels of our national heritage bear witness to the development of cartography during the 17th century. Each with a diameter of 68 cms, the globes are the largest ever made by Blaeu, as well as being the largest conserved in Belgium. Unfortunately, a process of internal degradation had started and gaps in the globes made the maps difficult to read.

The conservation and restoration of this extremely complex type of work, involving paper, metal and wood, was assigned to a specialist in the Netherlands. Meticulous treatment remediated the wear and tear as well as various other types of damage. The work was completed in three parts. First, the surface had to be cleaned: this involved removing the old finishing layers that had deteriorated, cleaning the dirt and eliminating previous restorations that precluded the correct reading of the maps. Secondly, the damaged parts were restored and the structure of the globes was reinforced. Finally, the restorer applied new layers of protection and finishing to the entire surface of the globes.

As the showcases in which the globes were exhibited no longer conformed to current norms, new showcases have been able to be purchased, thanks to support from BASF.