Accession No

6840

Brief Description

Regiomontanus dial, fake

Origin

Maker

Class

dials

Earliest Date

Latest Date

Inscription Date

Material

metal (brass); cloth (cotton); plastic

Dimensions

76mm (width), 131mm (depth), 9mm (height)

Special Collection

Provenance

Purchased from Tesseract July 2025. Purchased by a private individual c. 2005.

Inscription

DECLINATIO SOLIS
SCALA ALTITUDINIS
MB 99 [obverse]

SIGNA ET DECLINATIONIS SOLIS [reverse]

Description Notes

Regiomontanus dial, fake.

Rectangular brass dial with attached string and plumb bob. The obverse of the object features a Regiomantus dial for latitudes 27° to 60° North. The upper section of the plate consists of a trigon in which zodiacal divisions are crossed by horizontal parallel lines of latitude. The top edge is marked with the zodiac, and the right edge of the trigon is labelled with the latitudes running from 27 to 60, marked every 3°. Below this is a zodiac scale and gridlines for setting the string into place. And articulated arm is attached to the plate at the top of the trigon, and is screwed in at both joints. A string is attached to the end of this arm, which ends with a small red indicator bead and a brass plumb bob.

The reverse features a quadrant with various scales, including two 1-12 scales, a 90° scale, and the zodiac calendar.

Two pin hole sights are mounted at the top of the object, and there are various floral decorative elements included on both sides of the object. There is a small insert on the side of the plate, into which the string can be pushed.

References

Events