Orrery or planetary model, c. 1712, made for Charles Boyle, the fourth Earl of Orrery by John Rowley, Fleet Street, London. The instrument was copied from one made by George Graham, and termed ‘orrery’ after its purchaser.
Dated 1712-3, this planetary model was made by the London instrument maker, John Rowley. Called an orrery or more correctly a tellurium, it is a demonstration device to show the motions of the Earth and Moon around the Sun. Such apparatus became popular during seventeenth century especially after Sir Isaac Newton published his universal theory of gravity. This particular example was made for Charles Boyle, the fourth Earl of Orrery in Ireland. Rowley copied it from an earlier example made by the London clock maker, George Graham. Much admired in its day, it was given the title 'orrery' after its owner – probably a play on the word ‘horary’, meaning hours. This name was subsequently applied to later planetary models or machines.
On display
If you are visiting to see this object, please contact us in advance to make sure that it will be on display.
Related people
Look closer
Orrery or planetary model, c. 1712Details
- Category:
- Astronomy
- Object Number:
- 1952-73
- Measurements:
-
overall (estimate): 500 x 900 mm
- type:
- planetaria (models)
- taxonomy:
-
- disciplines
- disciplines
- science
- natural sciences
- physical sciences
- credit:
- Earl of Cork and Orrery
Cite this page
Rights
We encourage the use and reuse of our collection data.
Data in the title, made, maker and details fields are released under Creative Commons Zero
Descriptions and all other text content are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence
Download
Download catalogue entry as json
View manifest in IIIF viewer
Add to Animal Crossing Art Generator
Download manifest IIIF
Our records are constantly being enhanced and improved, but please note that we cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information shown on this website.