Accession No

6841

Brief Description

compendium, purportedly by Joannis Mauritj de Tissotis, Italian, 1800 (c), but actually a fake

Origin

Italy?

Maker

Joannis Mauritj de Tissotis?

Class

dials

Earliest Date

1800

Latest Date

1980

Inscription Date

Material

metal (brass); glass

Dimensions

87mm (width), 147mm (depth), 43mm (height)

Special Collection

Provenance

Purchased from Tesseract July 2025. Purchased at auction by a private individual in the 1980s.

Inscription

Umbra Recta
Versa
Versa [on the front of the object, on its hinging face]

Joannis Mauritj de Tissotis [on the back of the object, at its base]

Description Notes

Compendium, purportedly by Joannis Mauritj de Tissotis, Italian, 1800 (c), but actually a fake.

Brass compendium of instruments, comprising of two sectors, a simple theodolite, a compass. and a calendar. The main body of the object is circular, and it sits on an ornamental base. The front of the object comprises of two sectors, mounted on an insert so that they can slide back and forth along the base of the the object. Behind these, there is a simple theodolite, which itself in hinged so that it can lift upwards towards the top of the object. Lifting the theodolite reveals a compass, set behind a pane of glass. The reverse of the object features an inscription on its base with the supposed maker's name, and a further hinged element; a blank circle of brass which hinges upwards to reveal a calendar dial. There is a circular loop on top of the object from which it could be hung.

The right-hand sector has become detached from the main body of the object.

References

Events