One of the world’s first calculating machines will not go up for auction as planned in France, after a Paris court provisionally blocked the export of the historic item.
Auction house Christie’s has confirmed that it will not proceed with bidding for the La Pascaline machine, developed by French mathematician Blaise Pascal in 1642.
Valuations suggested the machine could fetch between €2 million and €3 million (£1.77 million to £2.65 million). Christie’s called it “the most important scientific instrument ever offered at auction.”
Scientists and researchers filed a legal challenge to grant heritage protection to the historic instrument, arguing that it should be classified as a “national treasure.”
Pascal was just 19 when he developed the first version of a calculator, Christie’s said. There are only nine of these machines still in existence.
“It is the first attempt in history to replace the human mind with a machine,” reads the official description of the collection.
“Its invention represents a great advance, a ‘quantum leap’ whose importance and meaning take on a very special meaning today.”
The Pascaline was exhibited in Christie’s halls in New York and Hong Kong throughout the year.
The machine was included in Christie’s auction of the library of the late Catalan collector Léon Parcé, which also featured Pascal’s philosophical piece Fáciles and the first printed version of “Pascal’s Wager.”
On Wednesday, an administrative court in Paris temporarily blocked a previous export authorization granted by France’s culture minister in May. Two experts had signed the minister’s certificate, one of them from the Louvre Museum.
The judge concluded that there were “serious doubts” about the legality of the certificate, according to a statement from the Paris court, adding that the decision was provisional until a final ruling is issued.
In a statement to AFP, a Christie’s spokesperson said: “Given the provisional nature of this decision and in accordance with its client’s instructions, Christie’s is suspending the sale of La Pascaline.”
The court noted that the historical and scientific value of La Pascaline could be qualified as a “national treasure” that warrants protection under France’s heritage code.
French heritage group Association Sites & Monuments, which was among the applicants, welcomed the decision.
with additional reporting from Sebastian Usher, Global Affairs Reporter
