lodestone mounted in silver bands
Date1650-1700
Inventory Number0024
ClassificationLodestone
Subject
Maker
English
Cultural Region
Dimensions11.7 x 10.9 x 6.4 cm (4 5/8 x 4 5/16 x 2 1/2 in.)
Material
Bibliography
DescriptionThis large natural magnetite is fitted at the north and south poles with iron plates, each of which ends in tapered foot. The silver mounting consists of a central band and two caps binding the iron plates to the stone. The banding is stamped with acanthus leaf and Tudor rose pattern. A compass rose of sixteen points with fleur-de-lys pointing north was worked into the design on top of the lodestone. An ornamental silver handle runs from north to south. A stylized emblem—the Tudor rose—and four cherubs, each representing one of the four major trade winds, decorate the bottom of the lodestone. It is cracked in several places.
In Collection(s)
Signedunsigned
Curatorial Remarks"The unknown silversmith decorated the compass rose with a traditional design. Artistically, his cherub-faced four winds and Tudor rose, although naive, have strength and charm. But as a craftsman he had little skill. The pierced, incised, and stamped banding is sloppy. The die was not carefully aligned before he struck the design into the metal, with the result that many segments of the pattern are out of register." (Wheatland, p. 153)
FunctionMagnetite was used to re-magnetize compass needles and to do a variety of experiments with the "magical" power of magnetism.
ProvenanceAcquired by Harvard College from the legacy of the Rev. Ebenezer Turell on February 23, 1779; Harvard Department of Physics, Jefferson Lab prep room for teaching; transfer to CHSI, 1949
Date: circa 1820
Accessories: keeper bar with brass hook; stand (DW0100b); weight (visible in old photograph) is no longer with instrument.
Object number: DW0100a
Edmund Scientific Corporation
Date: circa 1950
Accessories: envelope
Object number: 1998-1-1564
