a rare pair of Coronelli terrestrial and celestial globes circa 1696

the terrestrial globe dedicated to King William III of Great-Britain by Vincent Coronelli, and dated London, 1696, lightly coloured at a later date and varnished, the ring of wood and covered in paper, inscribed in Italian; the celestial globe also coloured at a later date and varnished, the dedicatori cartouche incomplete as the text of the left half does not match the right, the ring inscribed en suite to the terrestrial globe, the stands of walnut and elm wood, incorporating restoration and replacements

Vincenzo Coronelli (1650-1718) was born in Venice, apprenticed in the art of wood-cutting, joined the Franciscan order of Conventional Friars Minor in 1665, and in 1671 entered the convent of S. Maria Gloriosa dei Friari in Venice. Around 1680 he made his first pair of 175 cm. diameter manuscript globes for the library of Ranuccio II Farnese, duke of Parma and Piacenza. These were noticed by the ambassador to the French King, cardinal Cisar d'Estries, through whose offices Coronelli was commissioned to make a similar pair of globes for Louis XIV. He remained in Paris from 1681 until 1683 to complete the pair, subsequently known as the 'Marly' globes, measuring an enormous 384 cm. in diameter and garnered him a reputation of international renown, not only as a globe-maker of no small skill and elegance, but also as the first major manufacturer outside the Netherlands to achieve any sort of success. Coronelli then went on to work in various European cities until his return to Venice in 1705. There he founded the first geographical society, the Accademia Cosmografica degli Argonauti.
Another terrestrial globe of the same date and dedicated to King William III is preserved in the Library of Congress, Washington D.C.