A one-off, handmade orrery made using vintage beads; ceramic hand made beads, old clock gears and other parts a brass base from an old lamp
Our models are about to appear in the next seasons of Snowpiercer and Picard. Much like the solar systems we painstakingly produce, this is a model we've transformed by a little ingenuity, metallic paint, art images from old masters (this one features a modified early 1800s Michaelangelo Barberi painting printed on canvas) antique gels, metallic paints that we make ourselves, many coats of polymer and an absurd amount of work. It has a decidedly nautical steampunk finish. The upper key is used to turn the light off and on. The lower key is for appearance sake and does not perform a function, nor does the pulley along the gear box. There is a metal label "You would have to be half mad to dream me up." Lettering is in a modified cyrillic, but can be ordered in English, etc. These are fully functional. The sun lights up. The gears move the earth and moon around the sun. It is not electrified. These are plastic models (small amount of metal) which have been painted to look brass, copper and wood. (Genuine wood and metal orrerys are available online but cost upwards of $1,000.) This started out as a students model to illustrate the earths rotation around the sun and the moons rotation around the earth. It is 16.5 inches across and approximately 12.5" tall which means it is a showstopper. We do not consider this a toy for anyone under the age of 12. Repeat: What this is NOT: This is not metal, though we would defy you to definitely distinguish metal and wood from our faux finishes, nor is this a fine scientific instrument. Instead, this is a functional, art object which is guaranteed to be the first thing that someone admires when coming into a room. The base has been weighted so that it provides a solid, significant feel when picked up. Please know that these are not designed as lamps or nightlights. Again PLEASE NOTE: These are custom made and will REQUIRE 2-3 WEEKS BEFORE WE SHIP. AS ART WORK, THESE ARE NON RETURNABLE. We will happily ship anywhere else in the universe at your cost (within Ebay and USPS sanctioned countries) Item weighs approximately 5 lbs and carefully ships in a 12 x 12 x 12 box. Please ask all questions prior to buying. Thank you.
Vintage clockworks, vintage gears, and vintage beads recreated into a beautiful and unique orrery. This is a non moving art piece and is not intended to represent our solar system in exact order. It is a representation of a planetary system taking artistic license.
Vintage clockworks, vintage gears, and vintage beads recreated into a beautiful and unique orrery. This is a non moving art piece and is not intended to represent our solar system in exact order. It is a representation of a planetary system taking artistic license.
Celestial Egg I’ve been watching videos on those beautiful Russian jewelled eggs. Can’t mention the name - trademarked. I wanted to create my own version in wood and metal embellishments, adding a tiny LED smaller than a grain of rice within the “sun” crystal bead. The wire leads are finer than a strand of hair so soldering is tricky. As you can see in the photos the battery pack is in the base and both the top and bottom plates can be opened. I wanted it to sit on the legs with the battery pack exposed so it can easily be turned on and off, so there is a notch for the cord to run into the base plate. It takes two CR2032 that are easy to find. I’m still not at the skill level for USB power source. It’s ticked all the boxes for my art: industrial, steampunk aesthetic, science, space, light up, lots of whimsy and unique. I stained the wooden egg to a darker tone. I avoided glue with most of the decoration pinned, riveted and screwed into place. Although it looks delicate - it can be handled but it's not a toy. To undo the top part of the egg it should be turned gently open. I installed two knobs on the internal top plate and a finger grip on the base. Unfortunately I had to fix the planets and sun in place due to the lighting. This is a prototype so it took many hours to build, not counting the hours working out all the problems with the electrics. But I’m really happy with the finished product. The next one will be smaller with a vintage aluminium stamped earth and moon if it will fit. Fellow builders who are interested - most of the brass and copper embellishments are vintage/antique jewellery findings from US suppliers. The “star map” points are rivet heads. Although I am learning how to turn wood, I bought the wooden egg as a plain blank and it came with four other “nesting” eggs inside. Now I’m thinking about doing an egg for each planet….. Thank you for your interest in my work! I really do appreciate all the hearts, messages, comments, shares and follows. It inspires me to create everyday! ****************************************************************************************************************** Please Note: Everything I mail out is to a registered address with Etsy. It is double boxed, bubble wrapped, photographed and weighed on receipt by Australia Post. I ship with tracking, insurance and signature on delivery. This is to protect us both. If an item is damaged, stolen or lost, I do require an official investigation by local authorities to claim on my insurance so I can refund you. Fortunately, these problems are extremely rare. You will not be inconvenienced by any investigation. Thank you. If you are looking for a unique close up prop for movie or advertising, please feel free to contact me. I'm happy to work with your creative team and build the perfect McGuffin.
Much like the solar systems we painstakingly produce, this is a model we’ve transformed by a little ingenuity, metallic paint, art images from ancient designs printed on canvas, antique gels,…
An orrery is a mechanical model of the solar system, and The Sanderson Orrery, above, is a beautiful Jules Verne-themed one. It comes complete with a
Vintage clockworks, vintage gears, and vintage beads recreated into a beautiful and unique orrery. This is a non moving art piece and is not intended to represent our solar system in exact order. It is a representation of a planetary system taking artistic license.
Solar System Orrery (3D Printed): "An orrery is a mechanical model of the solar system that illustrates or predicts the relative positions and motions of the planets and moons, usually according to the heliocentric model." -Wikipedia- In this Instructable I will share how to make a…
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‘Orrery,’ defined: “...a mechanical device that illustrates the relative positions and motions of the planets and moons in the solar system in heliocentric model. They are typically driven by a large clockwork mechanism with a globe representing the Sun at the center, and with a planet at the end of each of the arms.” - Wikipedia Orreries first caught my imagination while reading that fine book, Little, Big, by John Crowley: ”The moon was silver. The sun was gold, or at least gold-plated. Mercury was a mirrored globe - mirrored with mercury, of course. Saturn was heavy enough to be lead...The orrery, brass-bound and oak-cased, was one of those turn-of-the-century scientific instruments that couldn’t have been more solidly rational, material, engineered: a patented universe, made of rods and balls, meshing gears and electroplated springs. “Then why couldn’t Smoky understand it? “...[He] had come to understand the basic principle of clockwork, upon which all those ingenuities were based: that a motive force - a falling weight, a wound spring - was prevented by an escapement from expending all its energy at once, and made to pay it out in ticks and tocks...The difficulty, the maddening difficulty, about Edgewood’s orrery was that Smoky couldn’t discover a motive force that made it go around.” ...And of course, nothing is driving it, it just goes on moving, through some magical force, unwinding with the ticks and tocks of the story. (I thought I was the only one who knew about this book until I read a mention of it by Neil Gaiman once, which made me feel somewhat redeemed. A lovely book, by the way.) But I digress. There are still loads of wonderful orreries out there in museums and (probably) very rich people’s homes. The name comes from Charles Boyle, who was the 4th Earl of Orrery, for whom one was made in the early 1700’s. But - check this out - orreries, or something like them, go back to antiquity. A thing called The Antikythera mechanism ”is believed by many to be an ancient mechanical analog computer (as opposed to most computers today which are digital computers) designed to calculate astronomical positions.” -Wikipedia Look at this picture, below - is this deserving to be in the Cabinet, or what? And by the way, I’m in love with Carlo G. Croce, a retired (or nearly) marine engineer who has a website in Italian and English. Mr. Croce is a clockwork-loving person who went to Greenwich...well, let’s hear it in his words: “During my last holiday in England I paid a visit to the Greenwich Observatory Museum, where I saw a couple of orreries. Having no camera with me, I tried to fix their design in my mind. Back home I realized I could remember very little about their construction. Wishing to built an orrery my first step was to make a drawing. I found a visit to the local public library very helpful in finding out what really happens above our heads. After many calculations I was able to fix the number of teeth for each wheels of every train.” Mr. Croce's creation Mr. Croce’s website, The Home of Antique Clocks, is a fine example of someone who loves what they do - he has links to pictures and descriptions of each one of his tools, in case you want to go home and make an orrery yourself. But his love is evident in the quality of his constructions, which are truly beautiful. Take a look at the Orrery page, and his wonderful Astrarium - and my favorite, the “wheels cutters” page, where we get to see things through his eyes for a moment. These are magical devices, in the extreme. I’ve gone on long enough, but if you want to pursue this on your own, here are a few interesting links: - John Gleave, Orrery Maker: a maker of modern orreries - Paul Kellar’s orreries, based on James Ferguson's designs (circa 1763), hosted on Sherwood’s Astronomical Supply website. (Special thanks to the unknown David Wilkinson, of the Fitzwilliam Music Society, Cambridge, for his pics of the Whipple Science Museum, for which I am indebted.
Although not functional I put this orrery together on a day off and it makes a nice centerpiece. The planets are wooden balls purchased from the local arts and craft store while the Sun is a plastic Christmas ball. They all sit atop some lamp/candle holder parts and coat hanger wire.
Vintage clockworks, vintage gears, and vintage beads recreated into a beautiful and unique orrery. This is a non moving art piece and is not intended to represent our solar system in exact order. It is a representation of a planetary system taking artistic license.
Vintage clockworks, vintage gears, and vintage beads recreated into a beautiful and unique orrery. This is a non moving art piece and is not intended to represent our solar system in exact order. It is a representation of a planetary system taking artistic license.
Tower Orrery (planetary solar system model) in Walnut, Stone and Brass. Created by OrreryArt. Buy now. An orrery is a mechanical model of the solar system used to present the movements of the plane…
