Null Ptolemaic armillary sphere in gilded and engraved brass with compass in the…
Description

Ptolemaic armillary sphere in gilded and engraved brass with compass in the base. In the centre, a globe bearing the main geographical contours and the names of the four continents AMERICA, EUROPA, AFRICA, ASIA, surrounded by the meridian which is supported by a central pillar and slid into two notches of the circle of the horizon comprising two graduations. The latter is engraved along its inner edge with a zodiac whose odd units are hatched, numbered twelve times from 10 to 30 degrees every 10 degrees and punctuated with each sign in Roman capitals accompanied on the left by its symbol, ARIES, TAURUS, GEMINI, CANCER, LEO, VIRGO, LIBRA, SCORPIUS, SAGITTARIUS, CAPRICORNUS, AQUARIUS, PISCES; the interior is engraved with a calendar divided into days and numbered from five to five until the last days of the month, names of the months in Latin IANUARIUS, FEBRUARIUS, MARTIUS, APRILIS, MAJUS, IUNIUS, IULIUS, AUGUSTUS, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER with inscription of the names of the saints and the religious festivals. Outer edge indicating the directions accompanied by the fourteen winds also named in Latin (Vulturnus, Eurus, Aquilo, Zephyrus...). The circle of the horizon, supported by four arms attached to the shaft, frames the structure intersected by the Ecliptic, the widest ring, graduated from 10 to 30 and punctuated by the signs of the zodiac. Five parallel rings surround the globe: in the centre is the slightly wider band of the equator, with a scale numbered from 0 to 360 subdivided into units with marks every 5° and 10°. Compass with central decoration of a compass rose indicating sixteen directions, engraved on the edge of the cardinal points: MERIDIES, ORIENS, OCCIDENS and SEPTENTRIO surrounded by a circular scale divided and numbered twice from 10 to 90 on either side of a fleur-de-lys. Tripod turned leg with screw for levelling. Germany, 17th/18th century Height: 57 cm - Diameter: 42 cm (slight accidents, wear and minor restorations) This object is part of a limited corpus of this type of sphere for educational purposes representing the geocentric model of the universe according to Ptolemy. A comparable sphere, in a less good state of preservation and having lost its compass, passed on the Viennese art market in 2016. The screw base for levelling is particularly rare, as spheres usually have a fixed base. Works consulted: A. Kugel, Spheres. L'art des mécaniques célestes, Cat. Expo, Paris, 2002, pp. 89-134; C. Hofmann and F. Nawrocki, Le monde en sphères, Cat. Expo, Paris, 2019, pp. 152-158.

94 

Ptolemaic armillary sphere in gilded and engraved brass with compass in the base. In the centre, a globe bearing the main geographical contours and the names of the four continents AMERICA, EUROPA, AFRICA, ASIA, surrounded by the meridian which is supported by a central pillar and slid into two notches of the circle of the horizon comprising two graduations. The latter is engraved along its inner edge with a zodiac whose odd units are hatched, numbered twelve times from 10 to 30 degrees every 10 degrees and punctuated with each sign in Roman capitals accompanied on the left by its symbol, ARIES, TAURUS, GEMINI, CANCER, LEO, VIRGO, LIBRA, SCORPIUS, SAGITTARIUS, CAPRICORNUS, AQUARIUS, PISCES; the interior is engraved with a calendar divided into days and numbered from five to five until the last days of the month, names of the months in Latin IANUARIUS, FEBRUARIUS, MARTIUS, APRILIS, MAJUS, IUNIUS, IULIUS, AUGUSTUS, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER with inscription of the names of the saints and the religious festivals. Outer edge indicating the directions accompanied by the fourteen winds also named in Latin (Vulturnus, Eurus, Aquilo, Zephyrus...). The circle of the horizon, supported by four arms attached to the shaft, frames the structure intersected by the Ecliptic, the widest ring, graduated from 10 to 30 and punctuated by the signs of the zodiac. Five parallel rings surround the globe: in the centre is the slightly wider band of the equator, with a scale numbered from 0 to 360 subdivided into units with marks every 5° and 10°. Compass with central decoration of a compass rose indicating sixteen directions, engraved on the edge of the cardinal points: MERIDIES, ORIENS, OCCIDENS and SEPTENTRIO surrounded by a circular scale divided and numbered twice from 10 to 90 on either side of a fleur-de-lys. Tripod turned leg with screw for levelling. Germany, 17th/18th century Height: 57 cm - Diameter: 42 cm (slight accidents, wear and minor restorations) This object is part of a limited corpus of this type of sphere for educational purposes representing the geocentric model of the universe according to Ptolemy. A comparable sphere, in a less good state of preservation and having lost its compass, passed on the Viennese art market in 2016. The screw base for levelling is particularly rare, as spheres usually have a fixed base. Works consulted: A. Kugel, Spheres. L'art des mécaniques célestes, Cat. Expo, Paris, 2002, pp. 89-134; C. Hofmann and F. Nawrocki, Le monde en sphères, Cat. Expo, Paris, 2019, pp. 152-158.

Auction is over for this lot. See the results