Lot Essay
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
Tardy, La Pendule Franaise, 1981, 5th. ed., p. 224, pl. LXXII, pp. 338-41, pl.
Cedric Jagger, Royal Clocks, the British Monarchy & its Timekeepers 1300-1900, pp. 168-70, figs. 229-31
Derek Roberts, Continental and American skeleton clocks, 1989, p. 121, fig. 114
Raingo was of French extration and fled (probably for political reasons) to Gand, Belgium at the begninning of the 19th century and almost certainly remained there for the rest of this life. He is also recorded as being clockmaker to the Duc de Châtres in 1823.
The word orrery is defined by H.Alan Lloyd op. cit. as a mechanical device for portraying the relative motions of the sun, moon and the earth, with sometimes the additions of the planets; operated either by hand or clockwork. The first known English example was made by George Graham circa 1710 and had the joint signatures of Tompion and Graham. History has it that John Rowley subsequently copied Graham's orrery (four examples of Rowley's clocks exist in the Old Ashmolean Museum). One of these was bought by the 4th Earl of Orrery and it is purported that it was the famous essayist Sir Richard Steel who then suggested the instrument should thereafter be called an orrery, in the Earl's honour!
It is not known how many examples of Raingo's orrery exist, perhaps 30-40 still survive. Those that are known take on the same basic form of a tellurium with the clock movement suspended below within a rotunda. Most examples have amboyna-veneered cases with rich ormolu mounts. A very few have large similarly veneered plinths with musical movements inside. Two other varients are constructed entirely of ormolu and bronze, one is housed in the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Brussels, the other is in a private collection.
Tardy, La Pendule Franaise, 1981, 5th. ed., p. 224, pl. LXXII, pp. 338-41, pl.
Cedric Jagger, Royal Clocks, the British Monarchy & its Timekeepers 1300-1900, pp. 168-70, figs. 229-31
Derek Roberts, Continental and American skeleton clocks, 1989, p. 121, fig. 114
Raingo was of French extration and fled (probably for political reasons) to Gand, Belgium at the begninning of the 19th century and almost certainly remained there for the rest of this life. He is also recorded as being clockmaker to the Duc de Châtres in 1823.
The word orrery is defined by H.Alan Lloyd op. cit. as a mechanical device for portraying the relative motions of the sun, moon and the earth, with sometimes the additions of the planets; operated either by hand or clockwork. The first known English example was made by George Graham circa 1710 and had the joint signatures of Tompion and Graham. History has it that John Rowley subsequently copied Graham's orrery (four examples of Rowley's clocks exist in the Old Ashmolean Museum). One of these was bought by the 4th Earl of Orrery and it is purported that it was the famous essayist Sir Richard Steel who then suggested the instrument should thereafter be called an orrery, in the Earl's honour!
It is not known how many examples of Raingo's orrery exist, perhaps 30-40 still survive. Those that are known take on the same basic form of a tellurium with the clock movement suspended below within a rotunda. Most examples have amboyna-veneered cases with rich ormolu mounts. A very few have large similarly veneered plinths with musical movements inside. Two other varients are constructed entirely of ormolu and bronze, one is housed in the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Brussels, the other is in a private collection.