Accession No

0743

Brief Description

horizontal dial, by Schindler, Austrian

Origin

Vienna; Austria

Maker

Schindler

Class

dials

Earliest Date

Latest Date

Inscription Date

Material

metal (brass, steel), glass

Dimensions

length 185mm; breadth 101 mm; thickness 34 mm

Special Collection

Robert Whipple collection

Provenance

Purchased from L.H. Spero, Harrow, England, on 14/12/1933.

Inscription

‘SCHINDLER M & M fecit
POLUS. 48 Gr.’
‘SENZA SOL(R)SON MORTO’
‘No ?59
S C
3 0’ ((?) written on base)

Description Notes

Rectangular brass base plate on 4 brass feet; divided IV - XII, I - VIII, numbered by I, subdivided to 15 minutes. Hinged brass gnomon (hinge very loose; 1-2-2000). Decorated with engraved floral and foliate motifs. Compass box with glazed cover; 4 cardinal points in Latin (ME, OR, SE, OC); needle blued for North (needle detached; 1-2-2000); upper scale divided 1 - 12, 1 - 12, numbered by 1, subdivided to 1/8. (Compass box loose - lug beneath is missing).
(Needle stop mechanism. Writing on the base; 1-2-2000).

Condition: fair (compass needle detached, gnomon hinge broken (?)); incomplete (lug missing).

References

Events

Description
The horizontal dial is the most common form of sundial. The portable version proved very popular with the upper classes during the 19th Century. During this period it could best be described as the wristwatch of its day.

The hour lines are engraved onto a horizontal surface, with a gnomon (pointer) in the centre. Seasonal variations (caused by the earth’s orbit being elliptical, not circular) have to be compensated for, as they can affect the raw reading by up to 18 minutes.
18/10/2002
Created by: Saffron Clackson and Boris Jardine on 18/10/2002

FM:43298