Portable diptych sundial

ca. 1666–80

Not on view

Although Charles Bloud was the inventor of this variety of azimuth sundial, several other Dieppe sundial makers, including Gabriel Bloud and Jacques Senecal, are known to have made and signed similar sundials. The principle by which their sundials worked is based on a variation in the magnetic declination of the area around Dieppe which existed for only a short period in the seventeenth century, beginning about 1666.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

Title: Portable diptych sundial
Maker: Probably by Charles Bloud
Date: ca. 1666–80
Culture: French, Dieppe
Medium: Ivory, pewter, brass, paper
Dimensions: Overall: 2 13/16 × 2 5/16 × 9/16 in. (7.1 × 5.9 × 1.4 cm)
Classification: Horology
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Stephen D. Tucker, 1903
Object Number: 03.21.58
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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