Orrery clock

Louis Thouverez French

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 553

Made by gifted Parisian clockmaker Louis Thouverez, this mechanical model of the solar system, widely known as “orreries,” was likely made for an aristocrat. Orreries were much admired because, as three-dimensional models, they made possible the observation of the universe without the use of special lenses and independent of variable weather conditions. Thouverez was clockmaker to the duke of Orleans, who despite voting for the execution of his cousin King Louis XVI, subsequently followed him to the guillotine in 1793.

Orrery clock, Louis Thouverez (French, master 1788– died after 1823), Cast and gilded bronze, Carrara marble, copper, brass, steel, enamel, French, Paris

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Orrery clock, Louis Thouverez (French, master 1788– died after 1823), Cast and gilded bronze, Carrara marble, copper, brass, steel, enamel, French, Paris
Orrery clock, Louis Thouverez (French, master 1788– died after 1823), Cast and gilded bronze, Carrara marble, copper, brass, steel, enamel, French, Paris
Orrery clock, Louis Thouverez (French, master 1788– died after 1823), Cast and gilded bronze, Carrara marble, copper, brass, steel, enamel, French, Paris

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