Object Image

Scaphe dial

Scaphe dial. A circular dial and a compass fold into the brass body of this dumbbell-shaped dial. The body has a carrying ring attached to the upper surface. Both the upper and lower surfaces are decorated with leaf patterns and a border of triangles, and the two instrument parts are milled around the edges. The compass is the larger of the two and both have silver interiors. It is marked with twelve characters for directions (these are the Chinese hour characters), has a blued needle with a small crossbar for North and is surmounted by a brass pivot. A glass plate covers all. On the dial itself, hour-lines are engraved and marked with five Japanese figures and a silver pin gnomon is set vertic...
18th century
Brass, silver, glass
10.5 x 21.0 x 47.5 mm
AST0419
Image and text © Royal Museums Greenwich, 2021

Where you'll find this

The Royal Observatory
Permanent collection