Christie’s, the British auction house, has halted the sale of the world's first calculator “La Pascaline” in Paris.
The auction of the first calculating machine was scheduled for Wednesday, but the Paris court order issued on Tuesday suspended the export authorisation, putting a ban on buyers to take this rare relic abroad.
La Pascaline was developed by French mathematician and inventor in 1642.
According to Christie’s, the artefact, decorated with ebony, is the “most important scientific instrument ever offered at auction.”
At the auction, it was projected to be sold out for 2-3 million euros.
The auction company has called the calculator a machine as “nothing less than the first attempt in history to substitute the work of a machine for that of the human mind.”
"Pending the final judgment, given the provisional nature of this decision and in accordance with the instructions of its client, Christie's is suspending the sale of La Pascaline," as reported by AFP.
The halting of the sale through provisional ruling came on the heels of scientists’ pleas who asked the court to block the export of the machine.
According to scientists, the world’s first calculator should be classified as “national treasure.”
