Accession No

3711

Brief Description

set of drawing instruments, by Etienne Lenoir, French, 1800 (c)

Origin

France; Paris

Maker

Lenoir, Etienne

Class

drawing

Earliest Date

1795

Latest Date

1810

Inscription Date

Material

ivory; metal (silver, steel); organic (‘green ivory’ aka horn); wood (mahogany); cloth (velvet, other)

Dimensions

box length 210mm; breadth 132mm; thickness 52mm

Special Collection

Provenance

Purchased from Anthony Turner, 1988.

Inscription

‘Lenoir a Paris’ (sector and one protractor)

Description Notes

Set of drawing instruments, by Etienne Lenoir, French, c. 1810.

2 ivory rules, one plain with bevelled edge, one triangular with handle, with scales of inches [0]-7 (divided into 12ths) and centimetres [0]-19 (divided into mm).
Sector with pairs of lines for ‘Les Parties Egales’, ‘Les Plans’, ‘Les Poligons’, ‘Les Cordes’, ‘Les Solides’, ‘Les Metaux’. 2 gunner’s scales: ‘Calibre des Pieces’ and ‘Poids des Boulets’.
A folding square and level with centimetre (0-15), inch (0-6) and diagonal scales; (aperture in one arm with notch at the end; 2-2-2000).
A removable tray contains a variety (5) of compasses, dividers (one with a screw adjustment moving a point relative to the arm on which it is mounted) (one set of dividers with fixed steel points; three with one fixed and one adjustable point - a large set, a medium set and a small set; 2-2-2000), and their fittings (3 ink bows; 3 pencil holders (one large, one medium and one small of each); one extension arm for the largest instrument; 2-2-2000); also ivory-handled pen, plumb-bob for the square and 2 adjusting tools.
Most instruments are silver with steel points and hinge fittings, but 2 semi-circular protractors are engraved on a transparent organic material known as ‘green ivory’ - these are both stored in a hidden pouch behind a flap on the inside of the lid.

All contained in a fitted mahogany box lined with green velvet.

Condition: good; complete.

References

Events