Accession No

6846

Brief Description

universal equinoctial dial, purportedly by P. Minguet, Spanish, 18th Century, but actually a 20th Century fake

Origin

Spain?

Maker

Minguet, P.?

Class

dials

Earliest Date

1900

Latest Date

2000

Inscription Date

Material

wood; metal (brass); glass; paper

Dimensions

83mm (width), 83mm (depth), 35mm (height)

Special Collection

Provenance

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

Inscription

Barcelona 42˚
Madrid 40˚
Londres 52˚

Description Notes

Universal equinoctial sundial, purportedly by P. Minguet, Spanish, 18th Century, but actually a 20th Century fake.

Brass compass and equinoctial dial set into an engraved wooden box. Compass has a white background, with compass points drawn in black, a black and white pointer, and the cardinal directions noted in Spanish. This is set behind a circular sheet of glass. Around this, in brass, is a degree scale for the full 360˚, marked at every 10˚ and subdivided at every 5˚. The degree scale is set slightly lower than the wider ring of brass around it, which features the latitudes of Barcelona, Madrid and London. Onto this ring of brass are attached two hinged elements, an equinoctial ring and a latitude arm, both in brass.

The compass and dial is set into a wooden box. The box is lidded, with the lid attached to the base and hinged with a brass hinge. A brass clasp at the front of the box can affix the lid to the base. The top of the lid of the box is decorated with an engraving of a figure in a hat and tunic, carrying two long poles. A sun is also engraved at the top left of the image.

The object comes with a small, square, concertina booklet, which fits inside the box lid. It is in Spanish, lists the supposed maker as P. Minguet, and gives some information about the object and how the instrument would have been used. It also notes that the object is a reproduction of a real example by a Spanish maker in the 18th century.

References

Events