Gualterus Arsenius from Louvain (ca. 1530-ca. 1580; also: Gautier Arsens, Walter Arsenius, Walter Aertsen) was one of the most important builders of astronomical instruments and worked in Louvain (Leuven) in Flanders from around 1550. The unsigned astrolabe with the date 1556 was made by him or from his workshop and features the typical arsenius rete with the intertwined ribbons and a stylized angel figure in the center. The throne of the original instrument is pointered on both sides with a slashed and girdled lily; it is also found in the center of the Mater. Such a lily was part of the coat of arms of King Philip II of Spain, who was also ruler of the Spanish Netherlands. The heraldry could therefore point to his personal collection, although the fact that Arsenius would certainly have drawn by name in view of the fact that he was commissioned to do so speaks against this. The original was auctioned in Zurich in 1975 from the René Greppin Collection and then again in Paris in 1980 from the Leonard Linton Collection.
The complete description of the instrument as PDF for download
