Globe, Novelty, Orrery, Ceramic, Astronomy, Solar System, French, c. 1940s

Ceramic Ptolemaic Orrery Figurine
French: c. 1940s
13 inches high
$900

A figural bust on a stand, of high gloss white ceramic with black hand-painted decoration. The face of the earth has concentric planetary rings on its head in the order used by the Ptolemaic system, labeled in French, with the names of the moon, the sun and the five planets, along with their astronomical symbols. The planets are those identified by the astronomer Ptolemy in the time of ancient Rome. In the 20th Century when this figurine was made, the Ptolemaic system had long been replaced by the Copernican system in which the earth is known to revolve around the sun.

Condition: Fine overall.