Anonymous

Esfera armilar

19th century

cast and wrought iron

64 x 44 x 44 cm

Inv. no. E00137

BBVA Collection Spain



This anonymous armillary sphere is a didactic model used in astronomy to depict objects in the sky and how they moved in relation to one another.

The name comes from armilla, the Latin for ring, as it is made up of various circles or rings that show the position of stars in space and their apparent movement around the Earth or the Sun. Each one of the circles depicts the equator, the ecliptic, meridian rings and colures.