Accession No
0233
Brief Description
compass, nautical, magnetic, by B. Feykes, Dutch, early 19th Century
Origin
Netherlands; Amsterdam
Maker
Feykes, B.
Class
navigation; magnetism
Earliest Date
1800
Latest Date
1800
Inscription Date
Material
wood; glass; paper (card); metal (brass)
Dimensions
diameter 135mm
Special Collection
Robert Whipple collection
Provenance
According to the accession register, this object was purchased by Moonens in Brussels on 26/06/1926.
Inscription
‘B. FEYKES IN AMSTERDAM’
Description Notes
Boat compass, dry card. Wooden bowl, red painted rim, white interior, glazed. Card with brass centre, black and white 32-point compass rose, with 8 cardinal points marked: N by a fleur-de-lys, the rest: ‘N.O.’, ‘OOST’, ‘Z.O.’, ‘ZUYDEN’, ‘Z.W.’, ‘WEST’, ‘N.W.’.
Condition: good.
References
Events
Description
This instrument is an example of a Dutch boat compass, made during the 18th century. The instrument is made of brass, and is gimballed so that the compass remains horizontal regardless of the motion of the vessel.
Magnetic compass
The magnetic compass consists of a magnetic needle attached to a compass card, graduated into angular points, and is used for navigation. The first known dry pivoted compass is dated as early as 1269.
The compass indicates the direction of the magnetic pole but there are problems caused by the difference between magnetic and true north (true north being the useful reading). The variation between the two must be calculated in order to obtain an accurate reading. True north was sometimes simply offset from the direction of magnetic north, but this did not allow for geographical variation. For this, charts were needed. The iron used in building ships during 19th century also led to problems because the magnetism of iron affected the compasses on board.
31/08/2006
Created by: Saffron Clackson; updated by Ruth Horry on 31/08/2006
FM:39648
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