In the second half of the sixteenth century, there were two main traditions in globe-making cartography, one derived from Gerard Mercator's world map, and the other attributed to the gores designed by François Demongenet in 1552. In fact, the present globe does not conform entirely to the defining characteristics of the Demongenet tradition, lacking the note Devicta anno 1530 in North America, labelling to Japan (usually some variation of Sippannage) and the phantom Gryforum islands south of Java. Whilst fitting broadly into this tradition, however, the cartography is in fact most similar to that of the Joannes Oterschaden terrestrial globe of 17cm diameter, dated to c.1600 (Dekker, GLB0119). Although showing certain differences (ungraduated equatorial, present ecliptic, abbreviated notes), the similarities (the presence of crowns to show kingdoms, the elephant in southern Africa, cartographical design) suggest that Oterschaden's gores may well have served as a model for the present example. These gores were reissued around 1660 in Nuremburg by Paulus Fürst, although with the note Terra nondum plene cognita Inuenta ao1499 absent; the same note appears here in abbreviated form. Also present is Insula nove in uenta in the Indonesian archipelago which on Oterschaden's gores is Insulæ Novæ inuenta Ao1520, the islands also being headed Archi Pelagus, which is here absent; further notes and details from the Greenwich globe are omitted, and the design of the sailing ships that decorate the ocean is slightly different, but an identically odd dog-like sea monster is present here in the Indian Ocean; corrected, also, is AFRICA which on the Oterschaden globe is lacking its 'C'.
Very little is known of Oterschaden, not even his nationality. He signed himself with the epithet Belga indicating the low countries or perhaps north-eastern France, but his globes are dedicated to the Bishop of Comminges in the south of France and Dekker associates his work with that of Gulielmus Nicolai, working in Lyon and Avignon; to complicate matters further, Oterschaden's horizon rings have the wind names in German, from which Dekker infers a possible Lorraine background and suggests Strasbourg as his town of residence.
Further gores of the same design are in the Rijksmuseum and described by van der Krogt (Ote 1) and in the Hauslab-Liechtenstein collection, although the former lack the note in the southern continent, and the latter are Fürst reissues, bearing his name; Stevenson also illustrates Fürst-issued gores from the Hispanic Society of America.