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Ernst Schotte & Co. Orrery. Berlin, W: H. Albrecht, W Geographisch-artistische Anstalt, no date [circa 1870].... (Total: 2 )
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$15,000.00
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Description
A Finely-Constructed Late Nineteenth-Century German Astronomical Model
Ernst Schotte & Co. Orrery. Berlin, W: H. Albrecht, W
Geographisch-artistische Anstalt, no date [circa 1870].
Central pillar featuring nine brass collars for nine iron arms with
painted wooden planets, asteroids, and moons on wire arms, topped
with a brass sun ball and extending above a circular papered
horizon plate colored green, yellow, and orange and graduated in
degrees, days of the houses of the Zodiac, days of the month, and
seasons, with a separate smaller circular scale and bronze pointer.
These elements rest on a finely geared mechanism with a turning
handle, founded on a cast bronze base decorated with tulip
forms.The mechanism measures approximately 41.5 inches (105.4 cm) maximum width and approximately 15 inches (38.1 cm) tall. The brass sun ball is orbited by replicas of each planet, some with their own miniscule orbiting bodies: Mercury and Venus with no moons, Earth (painted a distinct blue) with one moon, Mars with two moons, a representation of the Asteroid Belt, Jupiter with five moons, Saturn with its distinctive rings and eight moons, Uranus with four moons, and Neptune with one moon (regardless of your chosen side in the Pluto debate, the small astral body was not discovered until 1930).
For as long as humans have been gazing up at the stars, there have been attempts to capture that beauty and movement in a tangible form. These planetaria have taken many forms, from very early water-driven devices documented in China, to complex watches and children's toys of later centuries. The first device to be called an 'orrery' "...was made by John Rowley of London in 1713... the name was coined when the Rowley copy came into possession of Charles Boyle, fourth Earl of Orrery" (Mills). These orreries, crafted in many sizes and materials, reproduce the movements of our solar system with the grace and mechanics of a ticking watch, featuring a base of turning gears shifting each astral body around each other and around the Sun in an endless dance. However, movement is all an orrery reproduces, as it would be nearly impossible to develop a correctly scaled representation of each object and the distances between them in a displayable manner such as this.
Condition: Minor wear and darkening to paint on models. Brass elements somewhat tarnished. Horizon plate toned and somewhat foxed with a few light dampstains; minor chipping to paper along edges and lightly abraded on the verso. Earth model with a small red spot of paint showing through the blue.
References: L'E Turner, G., Scientific Instruments 1500-1900, pages 25-27; Mills, J., Encyclopedia of Antique Scientific Instruments, pages 165-167.
Provenance: Christie's, October 23, 2001, Lot 127.
Auction Info
2022 December 1 Historical Platinum Session Signature® Auction #6267 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
December, 2022
1st
Thursday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 2
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 770
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