Accession No
0566
Brief Description
artificial horizon, 1800-1900 (c)
Origin
Maker
Class
navigation; surveying
Earliest Date
1800
Latest Date
1900
Inscription Date
Material
glass; wood; hide (shagreen leather); cloth (velvet); metal (brass)
Dimensions
level length 65mm; diameter 15mm; part diameter 64mm; thickness 34mm; box length 76mm; breadth 84mm; height 42mm
Special Collection
Robert Whipple collection
Provenance
Purchased by Robert Stewart Whipple with case (now missing) from Antique Art Galleries, Grafton Street, London, England on 30/09/1929.
Inscription
Description Notes
Black glass artificial horizon, mounted in brass, with three brass levelling screws. Glass bubble level.
Fitted wooden box, covered with shagreen leather and lined with blue velvet. Brass hinge and hook fasteners.
Condition: good.
References
Events
Description
An artificial horizon can be used in darkness, fog, or when the real horizon is obscured for any other reason. They were often used in conjunction with other instruments that need a horizontal level, such as a sextant or reflecting circle. There are records of use from the mid 16th century onwards.
The two basic types of artificial horizon were mercury with a glass cover – the top layer of the mercury always staying level (this type is not very practical for use on a ship) and bubble levels, where the position of bubbles in a liquid shows which way the axis is tilting.
18/10/2002
Created by: Saffron Clackson on 18/10/2002
FM:39884
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