Accession No
3376
Brief Description
horizontal pedestal dial, by Thomas Blunt, English, c. 1820
Origin
England; London; Cornhill
Maker
Blunt, Thomas
Class
dials
Earliest Date
1820
Latest Date
1820
Inscription Date
Material
metal (bronze)
Dimensions
height 68mm; length 273mm; diameter 264mm
Special Collection
Provenance
Purchased from Nouveau Drouot, Paris, France, 06/12/1986.
Inscription
‘T. BLUNT, Cornhill
LONDON’ (hour circle)
Description Notes
Bronze horizontal pedestal dial on a circular plate. Hour scale divided VI - XII, I - VI, numbered by I, subdivided to 3 minutes. Gnomon set for approx 14˚ N.
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 effect the raw reading by up to 18 minutes.
18/10/2002
Created by: Saffron Clackson and Boris Jardine on 18/10/2002
FM:43537
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