A Pair of Rare Plaster Relief Maps of the World, Published by Ernst Schotte & Co, Berlin 1876

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Origin: German
Period: Mid / Late Nineteenth Century
Provenance: Unknown
Date: 1876
Height: 20.5 inches (with frames)
Width: 20.5 inches  (with frames)


The hand coloured maps with raised mountain ranges in plaster relief, bordered by gilt edged ebonised frames by Ernst Schotte & Co (1855-1912) Berlin.

The pictures are unusual; they are three-dimensional, modeled in plaster, and maps and globes are usually presented in other forms, and in other materials, very rarely are they found in picture form. Condition can only be described as fair; one of the pair would fall into the fair to good category and the other into poor to fair. The plaster has some surface cracks, some loss in places but the overall effect of both pictures is still very pleasing. The frames are in sound condition and the backs undisturbed.

Famous makers of terrestrial globes, armillary spheres, tellurium’s, orrery’s or planetarium’s and various other astronomical instruments, and who published in fifteen different languages, Ernst Schotte & Co were active from 1855 until the early twentieth century. The company was originally known as simply Ernst Schotte, later becoming Ernst Schotte & Co in 1875, one year before these pictures were published, thus we can decipher this pair were published in the center period of the companies’ history.

With areas marked as still ‘yet unexplored’ these rather unusual pictures hark back to a time where the earth still held some mystery, and there is no doubting that they would look simply superb hung in an office or lounge today.

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