The Maritime Museum’s collections are extremely rich and varied. They include pieces ranging from a ship that still sails to a postal stamp, or from a steam engine to a 14th-century manuscript. Of course, they also include everything you expect to find in a maritime museum: binnacles, anchors, model ships, navigational tools, etc. In other words, all sorts of documents and objects from the miniscule to the huge, from all different periods and made of all sorts of materials. For decades, the Museum has gathered examples of the maritime past, a heritage that reminds us of the lives of seafarers, the histories of ships and maritime activities in peacetime or war.
We would like to offer a selection of objects and documents that are notable for their historical interest, their rarity or their aesthetic value. These can give you a general idea of the content of the Museum’s collection. However, do not forget that there is a great deal beyond this selection, with thousands of artefacts and documents that you can discover using our search engine or other resources.
We encourage you to take a stroll through some of the key pieces in our Museum’s collection, grouped into twelve categories to help you keep your bearings.
Nautical Atlas from 1600 by Vicenç Prunes
CartographyThis atlas was completed by Vicenç Prunes in Majorca in 1600, on five sheets of parchment. The first is the cover, illustrated with an image of the crucifixion and a circular mappa mundi. The second shows the Atlantic coasts of Europe, and the third shows the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa. The fourth shows the western and central Mediterranean up to Greece, and the fifth shows the western Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The atlas is signed by the author: “Vicentius Prunes me fecit in civitate Maioricarum Anno Domini nostri 1600” and it includes the inscription “Dn Francisco Brotons/ (A.W.?) Carta de navegar (?)”. It also includes several decorative elements, like figures of kings, ships, cities with their flags, flora and fauna and compass roses.
