Tellurian
French: 3rd Quarter 19th Century
Brass, mahogany, iron and wood
29 inches high, 18 inches long
A hand-operated tellurian with no gears, probably a handmade device, not manufactured or mass-produced. Its unique features, which do not appear on any manufactured tellurian we know of, include rods that emanate from the earth and incised lines on the sun. The wire rods from the earth probably indicate the 23.5-degree tilt of the earth on its axis. The incised lines and rods in the sun apparently indicate the celestial circles and the zodiac.
The tellurian has a two-inch terrestrial globe with four inset rods emanating from it at 90-degree intervals, surrounded by a wire armature holding a wooden sphere representing the moon, which can be revolved by hand around the globe. Both are suspended at the end of a curved brass arm turning by hand at the other with mahogany handle. The brass sphere next to the handle represents the sun and has incised lines and various inset rods, the uppermost iron rod surmounted by the letter “N” indicating north. Apparatus supported by a tubular brass central standard on domed mahogany base. The terrestrial globe has printed gores with place names in French and is apparently unsigned.
