Catalogue Entry
Catalogue Entry
The Orrery Conservatory was constructed around a brass mechanism of such unusual scale that the surrounding academy appears secondary to it. The instrument occupies the central court, passing through several galleries and continuing into the upper dome, where its outermost rings cannot be inspected from the floor.
Contemporary records describe the mechanism as remaining in continuous motion, although no surviving account identifies a power source or maintenance schedule. Observers have also noted that its arrangement does not correspond precisely to any recognised model of the heavens.
Registrar's Notes
Routine inspection of the central mechanism has never been authorised.
Print Specification
Museum-quality giclée print produced with archival pigment inks on Hahnemühle German Etching 310gsm.
A3 (29.7 × 42 cm / 11.7 × 16.5 in).
