Accession No

1846

Brief Description

scioptric ball, English, late 18th/early 19th C

Origin

England

Maker

Class

optical

Earliest Date

1775

Latest Date

1825

Inscription Date

Material

wood (mahogany, walnut, ebony (?)); glass

Dimensions

length 128mm; breadth 125mm; height 69mm

Special Collection

Heywood collection

Provenance

Purchased from the Professor Harold Heywood collection under estate duty exemption benefit with the assistance of a Science Museum PRISM grant-in-aid.

Inscription

Description Notes

Mahogany and walnut. Frame in mahogany pierced for fastening at two opposite corners; on verso of frame a scratched number ‘031’; walnut ball held in the frame by a turned mahogany ferrule; lenses set in walnut (?ebony) cells; front lens aperture 34mm; rear lens aperture 34mm.

Condition: good/fair (loose ring inside ball).

References

Events