A solar system for the mantelpiece

The heavens, brought indoors through ingenious making.

Ornate orrery clock with a small mechanical model of the solar system above a gilded and marble base — Complete image · The Metropolitan Museum of ArtOpen full-resolution image

Look closer

Let your eye lead the way.

Separate the celestial model from the clock beneath it.
Follow the arrangement of the smaller forms above the base.
Notice the change between pale marble and gilded metal.

The story behind the object

A mechanical model makes a solar system available indoors, independent of cloud cover. This clock combines a model of celestial motion with the very worldly materials of an elaborate Parisian object.

The Met says it was likely made for an aristocrat. The exact first patron and the present working condition are not established in this collection’s research. The photograph invites close looking, not a promise that an animation could reproduce its mechanism exactly.

Original source & provenance

Institutional title: Orrery clock
Maker / origin: Louis Thouverez, Paris
Date: 1790
Material: Gilded bronze, Carrara marble, copper, brass, steel and enamel
Collection / accession: The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 2019.283.73

French-made and US-held. The patron remains “likely”, not named; no exact working reconstruction is offered.

View at the museum

Image & reproduction rights

The Met identifies this image as public domain under its Open Access CC0 programme. Collection research dated 2026-11-01. Credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession 2019.283.73.

The complete master is 2842 × 4000 pixels. The smaller display copies preserve the whole image; no invented detail has been added. This is not a print-quality promise, museum endorsement or worldwide clearance of non-copyright restrictions.

Met Open Access terms · Original museum image

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