Accession No
0646
Brief Description
orrery, English, circa 1780
Origin
England
Maker
Class
astronomy; demonstration
Earliest Date
1780
Latest Date
1780
Inscription Date
Material
wood (oak); paper; metal (brass)
Dimensions
height 95mm; length 253mm; diameter 195mm
Special Collection
Provenance
Purchased from T.H. Court on 05/11/1930.
Inscription
Description Notes
Oak base. Paper dial, engraved and hand-coloured; central image of sun surrounded by signs of zodiac on graduated ring. Orbits of the planets to Saturn with 5 satellites. Divided into quarters with seasons and symbols of the zodiac. Round outside edge names and signs of zodiac and calendar divided to 1 day.
Fitted with brass clockwork lunarium. Brass sun (Earth and moon missing). Paper dials with phases of moon and signs of zodiac. Handle and pointer.
Condition
References
Events
Description
Orrery
First made in about 1713, orrerys modelled the motions of the earth, moon and sun and sometimes other planets and satellites too. They illustrate the sun centred Copernican cosmology.
Grand orrerys were actually pieces of furniture. They tended to be very decorative and very large (although smaller versions were designed to be portable). This is illustrative of the fact that astronomy was commonly done by polite society, and that orrerys were used for entertainment as well as education.
18/10/2002
Created by: Saffron Clackson on 18/10/2002
FM:43520
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