Globe Possibly Engraved on an Ostrich Egg by Leonardo da Vinci (1504)

Image by Davidguam via Wikimedia Commons

This artifact attributed to Leonardo is engraved on two conjoined halves of ostrich eggs. And it features a single sentence, in Latin, above Southeast Asia: Hic Sunt Dracones–“Here be dragons.” It is the first depiction of the “New World” on a globe, indicating that da Vinci knew about Columbus’ voyages when the globe was made in 1504.

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