Accession No
1687
Brief Description
ivory diptych dial, made by Paul Reinmann, 1602
Origin
Nuremberg (Nürnberg); Germany
Maker
Reinmann, Paul
Class
dials
Earliest Date
1602
Latest Date
1602
Inscription Date
Material
ivory; metal (gilt-brass, steel); glass; rope (string)
Dimensions
width 90mm; depth 138mm; height 18mm [closed]
Special Collection
Holden-White collection
Provenance
On loan from The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge. Donated by Charles Holden-White to the Fitzwilliam Museum. Holden-White collection no. 1935-41.
Inscription
‘PAVLUS. REINMAN. NORIMBERGAE. FACIEB’
Description Notes
Rectangular ivory diptych dial with gilt-brass fittings.
Leaf Ia: pierced to view N point of compass; 32-point wind rose, subdivided to 1/4; 16-points named, with cardinal points named in Latin also. Lunar volvelle with gilt-brass rotatable disc with aperture to view pictorial representation of moon’s phase. Around the volvelle is an equinoctial dial divided 1 - 12, 1 - 12, numbered by 1. Latitude arm is on the side of leaf 1 and the scale on the side of leaf 2, divided 20 - 70, numbered by 10, subdivided to 2. List of towns and latitudes (see history file).
Leaf Ib: decorated border with repeated sun and moon motif; vertical dial with pin gnomon to show length of day and night, divided 16 - 8 and 8 - 16, numbered by 1, with associated zodiac symbols, also calibrated for unequal hours 1 - 11, numbered by 1. Vignette of lutenist and viola either side of amorous couple. Vertical dial for latitude 50˚ N, divide VI - XII - VI, numbered by 1, subdivided to 15 minutes. Gilt-brass disc for Southern side of equinoctial dial, divided as before.
Leaf IIa: decorated border. Horizontal dial for 50˚ N divided 4 - 12, 1 - 8, numbered by 1, subdivided to 15 minutes. Inset compass with meridian line offset 5˚ E of N for magnetic variation. Concave scaphe dial with pin gnomon for Italian and Babylonian hours, divided 8 - 23 and 1 - 16, numbered by 1. Bowl flanked by naked male warriors.
Leaf IIb: list of 99 towns and latitudes (see history file).
Compartment for gnomon of equinoctial dial on side of leaf 2. Also on side of leaf a table of epacts for Julian and Gregorian calendars.
poor condition, ivory very cracked
plumbob separated
References
Events
Description
The Diptych dial is a common form of portable multi-function sundial. Diptych dials were made popular by the instrument makers in Nuremberg during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. They are usually made of ivory with brass fittings, and are often elaborately decorated. The name of the device derives from the Greek diptychos for a pair of folding writing tablets, which the instrument resembles.
Diptych dials consist of two leaves hinged together, with a string ‘gnomon’ stretched between the inner surfaces of the leaves for casting a shadow. To use the device as a sundial the lower leaf must be placed parallel to the horizon and the upper leaf must be at a right angle vertically to it. The gnomon must then be aligned with the meridian of the place where it is being used by using the inbuilt magnetic compass. Time can then be read from the horizontal or vertical dial by the location of the shadow cast by the string gnomon.
In addition to the horizontal and vertical dials, diptych dials normally carry a number of other features, such as equinoctial dials, windroses, tables of latitude for adjusting the string gnomon for different locations, epact tables, lunar volvelles for telling time at night by the moon, and various pin-gnomon dials for telling the time according to Babylonian or Italian hours, or for calculating the position of the Sun in the zodiac.
27/05/2009
Created by: Joshua Nall on 27/05/2009
FM:39764
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