Zes segmenten van een hemelkaart, bedoeld voor een hemelglobe 1777 - 1810

These six segments of a celestial map, crafted anonymously, unveil a cosmos teeming with symbolic constellations. Here, ancient archetypes are rendered – archers, bears, and mythical creatures – that echo humanity’s primal engagement with the night sky. Consider the serpent coiled around constellations. This motif, pervasive across cultures, from the Babylonian Tiamat to the Greek Python, embodies both chaos and wisdom. The serpent’s shedding of skin symbolizes cyclical renewal, and the endurance of cosmic forces. Its presence here reminds us of the deep-seated human impulse to project our fears and hopes onto the heavens. Such symbols engage us on a subconscious level, stirring collective memories of a time when the stars were not distant points of light, but potent, living entities. They were integral to our understanding of the world. This non-linear progression of symbols shows the way we grapple with the mysteries of existence across time.