Negretti Orrery

Catalogue number #1820552831

Negretti Orrery	Negretti Orrery 2	Negretti Orrery 3	Negretti Orrery 4	Negretti Orrery

Description:

A large and fine orrery by H. Negretti, 19 Leather Lane, London complete with gilded brass model sun mounted on the central shaft around which revolve seven ivory spheres representing the planets together with their corresponding moons, together with a carved ivory earth and moon mounted on a geared mechanism with ring engraved with lunar phase diagram, the whole mounted on a wooden table applied with calendar and zodiac scales raised on three short turned wooden legs with a brass and rosewood handle at the side operating the whole mechanism. I've thought long and hard about the wisdom of putting this item on my web site It basically breaks my rule that I should not try to sell any antique item where 1. A substantial portion of the article is made of wood. 2. Where patina may play a major part in the decision to buy or otherwise. 3. Where an item has been restored. This items fails on all three counts! On the other hand it is a truly wonderful object with all the original gearing above and below the table and in full good working order. (By good I mean excellent. Under the tellurium directly below the earth globe is a plain wheel - no gear teeth - the purpose of this wheel is to help start the mechanism by turning it manually at the same time as one turns the brass handle to 'get everything going'. No help is required from this wheel with this mechanism as it all works simply and easily just by turning the handle). Secondly this is an early pre-1848 orrery and a very large example. Almost all the early orreries had carved ivory Earth globes pre 1850 and almost all had paper printed gore covered globes post 1850. In a field where 'size matters' this is a very large orrery. The table has a diameter of 17.25" (44 cm) and one needs a circle of one meter in diameter to swing Neptune through the full 360º. Of necessity the web site images are small but I will email large detailed images on request (assuming you are on broad band and can accept a large picture file)then you can see (hopefully) just how great an object it is or otherwise. Price negotiable but I'd talk seriously around eighteen thousand pounds sterling.

Sale Details:

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