The Celestial Sphere, Bronze monument in Ariana Park, Geneva, Switzerland
The Celestial Sphere is a bronze artwork displayed at Ariana Park featuring zodiac constellations and gilded accents throughout its structure. Standing four meters across, it represents celestial patterns through detailed casting, and it was once equipped with a rotation mechanism.
Paul Manship created this work in 1939 as a memorial commissioned by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation to mark two decades since the League of Nations was established. This timing placed the sculpture at a moment when international cooperation faced serious tests.
The zodiac signs shown here come from different cultures and express how people everywhere have understood the stars. Walking around it, you notice how these celestial patterns mattered across civilizations and connect us to shared human observations of the sky.
The work sits on the grounds of the Palais des Nations and can be viewed from multiple vantage points throughout the area. The nearby park offers good sightlines, allowing you to walk around it and observe the details from different angles.
Inside the sphere, one thousand silver stars were originally placed to mirror the night sky. Although the rotation mechanism later developed technical issues, this original detail shows how elaborate Manship's vision truly was.
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