Accession No

0320

Brief Description

horizontal dial, Butterfield type, by Michael Butterfield, French, circa 1690

Origin

France; Paris

Maker

Butterfield, Michael

Class

dials; horology

Earliest Date

1690

Latest Date

1690

Inscription Date

Material

metal (brass); glass

Dimensions

breadth 72mm; height 72mm; compass diameter 37mm

Special Collection

Robert Whipple collection

Provenance

Purchased from Gertrude Hamilton (trading as ’Mercator’), Paris, in 08/1928.

Inscription

‘BUTTERFIELD A PARIS’ (base)

Description Notes

Brass; square base decorated at the base of the gnomon and signed; 4 hour scales 54, 49. 46 & 43 ‘deg’ and calibrated 4-12-8 IIII-XII-VIII 4-12-8, IIII-XII-VIII by 1 to 15’; inset compass with 16 cardinal points, fleur-de-lis north, calibrated 0-90-0 x 2 by 20 deg. to 2 deg., with index indicating magnetic variation (10 deg. W); decorated ‘bird’ gnomon adjustable for latitude over a scale 40-60 deg. by 10 to 1 deg.; verso of base list of towns and latitudes (see file).

Condition: good.

References

Events

Description
The Butterfield dial was named after the man who popularised this kind of sundial. His name was Michael Butterfield, and he was an instrument maker in Paris, though he originally came from England.

Butterfield dials are a type of horizontal dial, normally octagonal or oval in shape, and are quite small. They have several different hour scales marked out on them, each of which is used at a different latitude. However, the gnomon also needs to be adjusted for the latitude. Butterfield designed an elegant scale for the gnomon adjustment, in the form of a bird. The beak of the bird marked the place on the latitude scale of the gnomon, which was lifted up or down until it was at the correct latitude. A compass in the bottom of the dial was used to make sure that it was pointing in the right direction.

This kind of sundial was not very accurate, but they were made in very large numbers, so they were obviously very popular. Most of the existing ones came from France, where many different makers produced them.

FM:39819