Accession No
1728
Brief Description
notebook, aide memoire and horizontal dial, Dutch, 2/2 18th Century
Origin
Holland [Netherlands]
Maker
Class
dials
Earliest Date
1750
Latest Date
1800
Inscription Date
Material
metal (silver); paper
Dimensions
90 x 58 x 20 mm; d (compass) 11 mm
Special Collection
Holden-White collection
Provenance
On loan from The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge. Donated by Charles Holden-White to the Fitzwilliam Museum. C. Holden-White collection.
Inscription
‘VIRTUTE NON. GRATIA’
(inscription on other side erased)
Description Notes
Note book with 18 leaves of pigment-covered paper and silver point stylos; the covers and binding in silver, pierced and engraved with decorative motifs incorporating mermaids. Inside the back cover is a mirror. Inside the front cover a horizontal dial divided 4 - 12, 1 - 8, numbered by 1; folding gnomon for 54˚ N; inset compass.
References
Events
Description
The horizontal dial is the most common form of sundial. The portable version proved very popular with the upper classes during the 19th Century. During this period it could best be described as the wristwatch of its day.
The hour lines are engraved onto a horizontal surface, with a gnomon (pointer) in the centre. Seasonal variations (caused by the earth’s orbit being elliptical, not circular) have to be compensated for, as they can affect the raw reading by up to 18 minutes.
18/10/2002
Created by: Saffron Clackson and Boris Jardine on 18/10/2002
FM:40044
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