compass sundial
Date: 1650-1679
Inventory Number: 7480
Classification: Sundial
Subject:
Maker: Johannes Kooch (fl. 1650 - 1679)
Collector: Harrold Edgar Gillingham (1864 - 1954)
Collector: David P. Wheatland (1898 - 1993)
Cultural Region:
Place of Origin:
Dimensions:
9.1 x 13.5 x 13.4 cm (3 9/16 x 5 5/16 x 5 1/4 in.)
Bibliography:
Lost in Learning: The Art of Discovery
Descriptionuniversal compass sundial
The compass sundial is made of gilt and silvered brass. The square base is engraved with flowers. It sits on four gilt, turned, leveling-screw feet. The underside of the base is plain, except for a compass-needle lift mechanism, which is carved to look like a leaf.
The folding gnomon is adjustable for latitudes 0°-90°, divided every 1°. The adjustment is made by a quadrant that slides through a slot in the gnomon bar. A tightening screw locks it into place. The lower triangle of the gnomon (the area from 0°-29°) is delicately engraved and pierced with flowers. It has a hanging plumb bob.
The bi-level magnetic compass has a silvered wind rose with 16 points labeled with the Swedish initials (which are the same as the German). There is an engraving of a rose at the center and fleurs-de-lys at north. The raised divided circle is runs 0°-360°, with subdivisions every 1°. The needle is blued with an arrow head and a split tail.
The hours are marked III-XII-IX every 1/4 hour.
The compass sundial is made of gilt and silvered brass. The square base is engraved with flowers. It sits on four gilt, turned, leveling-screw feet. The underside of the base is plain, except for a compass-needle lift mechanism, which is carved to look like a leaf.
The folding gnomon is adjustable for latitudes 0°-90°, divided every 1°. The adjustment is made by a quadrant that slides through a slot in the gnomon bar. A tightening screw locks it into place. The lower triangle of the gnomon (the area from 0°-29°) is delicately engraved and pierced with flowers. It has a hanging plumb bob.
The bi-level magnetic compass has a silvered wind rose with 16 points labeled with the Swedish initials (which are the same as the German). There is an engraving of a rose at the center and fleurs-de-lys at north. The raised divided circle is runs 0°-360°, with subdivisions every 1°. The needle is blued with an arrow head and a split tail.
The hours are marked III-XII-IX every 1/4 hour.
In Collection(s)
Signedon hour scale: Johannes Kooch fecit Holmiæ
FunctionThis compass sundial is a form of horizontal sundial that is not only portable but also adjustable for use at different latitudes. It was designed to sit near a window.
ProvenanceWebster, London, before 1930; Harrold E. Gillingham Collection, 1930 (inv. no. 72); David P. Wheatland, Topsfield, MA, 1949; gift to CHSI, c. 1985.
Published ReferencesEva Koleva Timothy, Lost in Learning: The Art of Discovery (Newburyport, MA: Athenaeum Publishing, 2010).