VEDETTE - Lot 400

VEDETTE Astrolabe" model Walnut floor clock with Westminster chimes and astrolabe dial. Made with the invaluable collaboration of Ets Ungerer, direct descendants of Jean-Baptiste Schwilgue, builder of the famous Strasbourg astronomical clock (which they still maintain) and creators, among others, of the Oslo and Messina astronomical clocks. On the astrolabe dial, the movement of the stars is presented as seen from the earth, taken as the fixed center around which the entire universe gravitates. The fixed background of theastrolabe-dial, the aafiha, represents the sky with curves of equal height (almicantarats) and verticals (azimuths) of 10 in 10 degrees traced for a given latitude. The light part of this safiha represents the visible half of the sky, the dark part the invisible half. The thick dividing line represents the visible horizon. Around this safiha is a 2 x 12 h dial, with noon at the top and midnight at the bottom. With documentation, weight and balance wheel. Signed on the dial, numbered "135" on the documentation. H 215 x W 47 x D 38 cm Wear