Images(6)

horizontal sundial

Datecirca 1670

Inventory Number7884

ClassificationSundial

Subject

Maker Jehan Cremstorff 1663 - 1683

Place of Origin

Dimensionsopen - gnomon as found: 2.7 × 4.5 × 5.9 cm (1 1/16 × 1 3/4 × 2 5/16 in.)
closed: 1 × 4.5 × 5.9 cm (3/8 × 1 3/4 × 2 5/16 in.)

Material

DescriptionOval shaped silver horizontal dial with compass. The gnomon is hinged to fold flat against the dial plate for storage. The chapter ring is marked IIII to XII to I to VIII with 15 minute subdivisions. The gnomon is designed for a fixed latitude of 49°. The original compass rose is hidden behind a paper overlay that is a much newer replacement. The paper compass rose is divided into 16 points marked fleur-de-lys, NNE, NE, ENE, E, ESE, SE, SSE, S, SWS, SW, WSW, W, WNW, NW, and NNW with no subdividsions.,oval

Cremsdorff Horizontal sundial

SignedSigned "Cremstorff" / "AParis" engraved on back of dial plate

Curatorial RemarksTag indicates purchase by David Wheatland as Lot 56 at Sotheby's with no cross reference to CHSI numbers. Maker listed as Cremsdorff in Webster database and Zinner. A similar sundial by Cremstorff was in the exhibition by Galerie Delalande, Paris, 2013-2014.

FunctionTime finding at a fixed latitude after orienting gnomon to point toward true North.

ProvenanceDavid Wheatland purchased from Sotheby's, London, June 25, 1968 (lot 56). Donated to CHSI, ca. 1987.