The Brussels Map Circle

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Globes and instruments
Brussels Map Circle event

The Brussels Map Circle International Conference
Globes and instruments


Brussels, Belgium
Organisation: The Brussels Map Circle
Programme
  • 09.30 - 10.00 - Reception of participants
  • 10.00 - 10.15 - Welcome by the President
  • 10.15 - 10.45 - Flemish Scientific Instruments in context by Prof. dr. Koenraad Van Cleempoel, Universiteit Hasselt | Between c. 1525 and c. 1580 the university city of Louvain became Europe’s most important centre for instrument making partly due to the research and technical skills of Gemma Frisius (1508-1555) and Gerard Mercator (1512-1594). It is the perfect harmony of aesthetics and science that made the Louvain instruments so sought after in the European market.
  • 10.45 - 11.05 - Coffee break
  • 11.05 - 11.35 - Scientific measuring instruments in the 16th century by Jan De Graeve, Chartered surveyor and valuer of fixed assets, Member of the Map Circle's Executive Committee | Jan developed a collection of rare measuring instruments and will introduce some of the 16th century instruments, useful in land surveying and cartography.
  • 11.35 - 12.30 - Visit to the Coronelli globes of the Royal Library
  • 12.30 - 14.15 - Aperitif and lunch, coffee
  • 14.15 - 14.45 - Exploring the Globe - Outside and Inside by Sylvia Sumira, Conservator specializing in globes, U.K. | As a conservator/restorer, the speaker will explain about her work, unveiling some interesting discoveries she has made while working on globes from different centuries: the visible surface - the map - on a globe is always fascinating, but occasionally there is an opportunity to look beneath the surface layers and this can reveal unexpected information.
  • 14.45 - 15.15 - The celestial globe of Gerbert of Aurillac (946–1003) by Dr. Elly Dekker, independent scholar, The Netherlands. | At the turn of the tenth century Gerbert of Aurillac invented, as part of his teaching of the liberal arts, a number of astronomical models, one of which was a celestial globe. Through the analysis of this globe, the speaker will picture the evolution of celestial globes and explain the difference between the two traditions: the Greco-Roman one and the Islamic one.
  • 15.15 - 15.25 - Break
  • 15.25 - 16.00 - The terrestrial globe of Vandermaelen by Wulf Bodenstein, Honorary President and founder of the Map Circle, advisor on maps at the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren. | Together with Marguerite Silvestre, Head of the Map Room of the Royal Library of Belgium, Wulf will give a talk on a terrestrial globe of 1846 by Philippe Vandermaelen. This is one of only three examples known and is now preserved in the Map Collection of the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren.

Registration here


Special this year is the possibility to visit (for free) an exhibition mounted by our member Stanislas De Peuter with the help of a cultural centre in nearby (from Brussels) Tervuren on Sunday. The Glorious Netherlands highlights Flemish and Dutch atlas cartography from 1500 to 1700 and focuses on representations of the Low Countries, featuring title pages, cities, images of the 80 years war, maritime charts etc., drawn from atlases, with beautiful colouring and often unique pieces. Set in very agreeable surroundings, the venue also offers the possibility for lunch, after the guided tour by Stanislas. Further practical details on how to get there at the conference.
Please visit our special Web page.


Venue: Royal Library of Belgium, Mont des Arts | Kunstberg, 1000 Brussels | Coordinates 50.84347° N 4.35682° E
Language: English
E-mail: info@bimcc.org
Time schedule: 09.30 - 16.00
Entry fee: Admission is free for members, non-members pay EUR 10.00 at entrance. Lunch (optional) is being arranged in the Library's cafetaria, with catering services. Price EUR 35.00.
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