Equinoctial Sundial by Dion Geerts
name: label: maker
content: Geerts, Dion
notes: label: Description
content: This brass universal equinoctial ring dial consists of a meridian ring, hour ring, rotating crosspiece or bridge, and sliding suspension ring/handle. One side of the meridian ring contains a nautical quadrant calibrated for solar altitude from 0 to 80 by single degree. The hour ring is calibrated on one side from I to XII x 2 by I. The hour ring is also calibrated along its inside edge from 1 to 12 x 2 by 1. The bridge has a pinhole gnomon sliding over a calendar scale calibrated and lettered by month and by zodiacal sign on verso. A previous cataloguer commented that: "Cursor track not long enough to allow cursor to reach winter solstice mark. Capricorn and Cancer apparently drawn outside annual path of sun. First point of Aries taken as midpoint of scale." Both sides of the meridian ring and one side of the hour ring are engraved with a list of 40 European cities and latitudes from Copenhagen to Malta and Dublin to Moscow. There is some artistic engraving on the gnomon and bridge.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Mathematics
label: Subject
content: Timekeeping
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Mathematics
label: See more items in
content: Science & Mathematics
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MA.336092
label: catalog number
content: 336092
label: accession number
content: 316529
objectType: label: Object Name
content: sundial, equinoctial
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: .5 cm x 7.1 cm x 8.5 cm; 3/16 in x 2 25/32 in x 3 11/32 in