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Armillary sphere

Charles-François Delamarchec.1800

Museu Marítim de Barcelona

Museu Marítim de Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain

Sphere is surrounded by a spherical metal arc, 35.6 cm in exterior diameter, 1.7 cm in width and 0.4 cm thick, which acts as a meridian. Arc with the inscription: Meridien / Degrés d’elevation du Pôle. Each quadrant is graduated and numbered from 0º to 90º. The sphere is 46.5 cm in diameter and is covered with pasteboard and printed, inked paper. It is Ptolemaic in type – that is, with the Earth as its centre. The language used is French.
The three parallels – the Tropic of Cancer, the Equator and the Tropic of Capricorn – are shown graduated and with their names inscribed (Tropique de Càncer / Ligne equinoctial, Tropique du Capricorne). The two meridians, the Equinox and the solstice, are also graduated and inscribed (Colure Equinoxe, Colure des Solstice). Inside the sphere there is the polar axis, the Earth (reproduced) the symbol of the moon and the symbol of the sun. In the lower part there is a metal ring is divided up into hours, using Roman numerals. In the upper part, the Arctic Circle (Cercle Arctique) is shown on pasteboard and graduated.
6.5 cm wood horizon with coloured printed paper and the border painted red.
The ring of the horizon is decorated with the signs of the zodiac featuring drawings of each sign, the months of the year and the directions of the winds, including double graduation with a difference of degrees.
The sphere is mounted on a Dutch-type base 37 cm in height.

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  • Title: Armillary sphere
  • Creator: Charles-François Delamarche
  • Date: c.1800
  • Location: Paris
  • Physical Dimensions: Diàmetre esfera 46,5 cm
  • Type: Scientific instrument
  • Medium: Coloured printed paper on pasteboard, coloured printed paper on wood, metal, and polychrome wood
Museu Marítim de Barcelona

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