A 16th-Century German gilt metal and silver diptych dial,

Details

A 16th-Century German gilt metal and silver diptych dial,
signed 1579 VS [i.e. Ulrich Schniep],

Face Ia, the upper leaf, outer face: engraving depicting a man accompanied by a lion holding a sun face, titled SOL and showing the symbol for the zodiac house Leo

Face Ib, the upper leaf, inner face: silver lunar volvelle with stamped scale graduated 3 - 12 - 9 and legend INDEX DIERUM AETATIS LUNAE, lunar phase aperture and conjunction diagram for trine, quartile and sextile, and pointer running over two concentric scales graduated 0 - 28 and 1 - 12 (twice)

Face IIa, the lower leaf, inner face: engraved silver dial plate depicting the sun, the stamped numerals running 4 - 12 - 8, the compass with blued steel needle, and folding, spring-loaded support for the later string gnomon, with captive plummet

Face IIb, the lower leaf, outer face: engraving depicting a woman holding the moon, titled LUNA and showing the symbol for the zodiac house of cancer (reversed left-to-right), the sides of the case with engraved foliate border, the two halves closed by the rotating suspension ring (small areas of gilt lightly rubbed) -- 2½in. (6.3cm.) long

See Colour Illustration and Details

Literature

ROHDE-HAMBURG, Alfred Die Geschichte Der Wissenschaftlichen Instrumente Vom Beginn Der Renaissance Bis Zum Ausgang Des 18.Jahrhunderts (Leipzig, 1923)
TURNER, A.J. (ed.) Time (The Hague, 1990)
ZINNER, Ernst Deutsche und Niederländische Astronomische Instrumente des 11.-18. Jahrhunderts (Munich, 1972)

Lot Essay

See note to previous lot. Zinner illustrates a very similar dial held by the Dresden Salon dated 1582 as figure 2, plate 31, Rohde two, dated 1576 and 1582 as Abb 11-12, and Abb. 13-14 respectively (p. 16), and Turner one held by the Huseum of the History of Science, Oxford, dated 1586, as item 231, commenting that this type of instrument was known as a "viatorium" (p. 120). All these examples have engraved exterior faces, either patterned or pictorial.

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