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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Astronomical clock · France

Horloge astronomique

Verified

An astronomical clock with 23 indications, displayed on the dials by more than 40 hands, designed by Charles Ambroise Delvart, parish priest of Zouafques, and built in 1849 by Ferdinand Potez, a clockmaker in Audruicq in the Pas-de-Calais department.

Technical facts

Inventory number
MIH IV-940
Object type
Astronomical clock
Place of production
France
Dating
1849
Materials and techniques (catalogue wording)
Bois, Email, Laiton, Acier
Dimensions (catalogue)
Dimensions: 240.0 x 128.0 x 42.0 cm

Historical significance

  • An astronomical clock with 23 indications, displayed on the dials by more than 40 hands, designed by Charles Ambroise Delvart, parish priest of Zouafques, and built in 1849 by Ferdinand Potez, a clockmaker in Audruicq in the Pas-de-Calais department.
  • The clock was first presented in 1851 in London, at the first world’s fair, the Great Exhibition, which took place in the Crystal Palace.

Photographs

Horloge astronomique (MIH IV-940)
Horloge astronomique (MIH IV-940) — Musée international d'horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Museum collection photograph, rights review pending. MIH collection record
Horloge astronomique (MIH IV-940)
Horloge astronomique (MIH IV-940) — Musée international d'horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Museum collection photograph, rights review pending. MIH collection record
Horloge astronomique (MIH IV-940)
Horloge astronomique (MIH IV-940) — Musée international d'horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Museum collection photograph, rights review pending. MIH collection record

Photographs are illustrative examples of the type, not necessarily the exact object described. Verify details against the source file page.

Sources & references

  1. Musée international d'horlogerie, online collection record, inv. IV-940: https://collection.mih.ch/fr/collection/item/39844/

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.