The Arenberg lineage belongs to the high nobility, whose estates, interests and familial connections have traditionally extended across borders. Their princely and ducal standing was equally reflected in the highly superior quality of their art collection, as they commissioned works from contemporaries such as Rubens, Van Dyck, and later Watteau.

The primary aim of this catalogue of scientific instruments in the collections of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France is to make them available, through detailed descriptions and ample photographs, to all who concern themselves with the development of mathematical instrumentation.