Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2016.

Images(2)

Photograph by Ed Pollard, Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital slr-2016.

Astronomical Calendar Sphere

Artist Stanislav Libenský (Czech, 1921 - 2002)

Artist Jaroslava Brychtová (Czech, 1924 - 2020)

CultureCzech

Date1994

MediumMold-melted and engraved glass

Dimensions18 × 18 × 18 in. (45.7 × 45.7 × 45.7 cm)
Other: 400 lb. (181.4 kg)

Signed"S. Libensky," engraved on edge of top hemisphere; "J. Brychtova 1994," engraved on edge of bottom hemisphere.

Credit LineGift of Lisa Shaffer Anderson and Dudley Buist Anderson

Object number2016.18

Collections

Glass Art

On View

On view

DescriptionA sphere of colorless glass with engraving translated directly from an image of an astrolabe plate. The sphere is comprised of two hemi-spheres, one sitting on top of the other to form a complete sphere. Each hemi-sphere has a shallow hemi-sphere carved away in the center to allow for a small solid sphere to be nestled between the two large hemi-spheres. This creates what the artists refer to as “a sphere within a sphere.” The engraving is on the bottom of the large upper hemi-sphere. The work weighs approximately 400 pounds and is made by the chunk casting method. This is also referred to as a 50 cm sphere (although it is slightly smaller).
ProvenanceFrom the artists to Heller Gallery, New York, 1994. Purchased by Dudley and Lisa Anderson, Wilson, NC, 1994. Promised gift of Dudley and Lisa Anderson to the Chrysler Museum of Art, September 2015. Gift of Dudley and Lisa Anderson to the Chrysler Museum of Art, June 2016. Exhibition History"Stanislav Libensky and Jaroslava Brychtova: Selections from the Lisa and Dudley Anderson Collection," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, May 10 - November 16, 2014.Published ReferencesDiane C. Wright (editor), _Glass Masterworks from the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2017), pg. 180-183.