An 18th-Century silver Butterfield-type compass sundial,

細節

An 18th-Century silver Butterfield-type compass sundial,
signed P. Le Maire AParis, the octagonal base plate engraved with foliate panel and four hour scales marked 52 de 4 - 12 - 8, 49 de IIII - XII - VIII, 46 de 4 - 12 - 8 and 43 de V - XII - VII, the folding, spring-loaded gnomon engraved with foliate motifs and latitude scale 40° - 60° running against a pointer in the form of a bird, the compass with engraved rose and brass-capped, blued-steel needle, the underside engraved with the names and latitudes of 31 European cities, in fitted, blue plush-lined, leather-covered case -- 3in. (7.5cm.) long

See Colour Illustration and Detail

出版

BAPTISTE, Georges (ed.) La Mesure Du Temps (Brussels, 1984)
DAUMAS, Maurice Scientific Instruments Of The Seventeenth And Eighteenth Centuries And Their Makers (London, 1972)
GUYE, Samuel and Henri MICHEL Time & Space Measuring Imnstruments From The 15th To The 19th Century (London, 1971)
MADDISON, F.R. A Supplement To A Catalogue Of Scientific Instruments In The Collection Of J.A. Billmeir, Esq., C.B.E. (Oxford and London, 1957)
SYNDRAM, Dirk Wissenschaftliche Instrumente Und Sonnenuhren (Munich, 1989)

拍品專文

Pierre Le Maire (circa 1739-1760) was the son of Jacques Le Maire (fl. circa 1720-1740), an instrument maker and member of the Société des Arts who made instruments for the Académie des Sciences. Daumas notes that Pierre was "the first constructor in France to produce Hadley's quadrant", made a wide range of instruments, and was famous for his skill in mounting natural magnets (p. 259). Butterfield-type dials by Pierre Le Maire are described and illustrated by Baptiste (p. 68, item 54), Guye and Michel (p. 248, plate 248), Maddison (p. 56, item 208, no illustration) and Syndram (pp. 139-141, item 55).