2016, Shopping Feature, New York Cottages & Gardens, ‘Orbit of Influence’

New York Cottages & Gardens
“Orbit of Influence”
by David Masello
September 2016, p. 48

The featured antique in New York Cottages & Gardens’ Fall Style issue is our mid-18th-century armillary sphere by French globe maker Louis-Charles Desnos (magazine page shown left), under the title Orbit of Influence. See it on our site. The full page article quotes George as to “what makes it special”:

WHAT IT IS: A Ptolemaic armillary sphere (10″ diam. x 15″ h.), which depicts basic principles and elements of astronomy, including the rotation of the earth, moon, and sun as well as the zodiac, the equator, and the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer. It shows the earth — as opposed to the sun — at the center of the universe.

PROVENANCE: French globe maker Louis-Charles Desnos created the wood, pasteboard, and engraved-paper sphere, which is signed and dated 1753. Antiques dealer George Glazer, who specializes in historic globes, maps and planetary models, purchased it at auction from a a private American collection.

WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL: “This is a particularly early example of an armillary sphere by a famous maker,” says Glazer. “It was produced during the Age of Enlightenment, when astronomy was considered an important component of a well-rounded intellect.”