18th Century German Polyhedral Dial
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German

Dated 1773
2 x 1 ½ x 1 ½ inches
 
   

18th Century German Polyhedral Dial
 
⚈ Sold

Dated 1773
2 x 1 ½ x 1 ½ inches
 
   

Marked Georg Paulus Seyfried 1773. Seyfried was an instrument maker working out of Nuremberg in the 18th century. Surviving dials by this maker are rare but those that are show similar dates. Other polyhedral dials of similar design are in the British Museum, The National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, and the History of Science Museum in Oxford.

Each face represents different times of day. The East facing sundial, marked Morgen Uhr shows morning hours, 4am to 11am. The South facing sundial, marked Mit. (Mitttag) Uhr shows midday hours, 6am to 6pm. The West facing sundial, marked Abend Uhr shows afternoon/evening hours, 1pm to 8pm. The North facing sundial, with an image of the sun, shows 4am-7am and 5pm-8pm. The horizontal sundial on the top shows 5am-7pm.

The compass face uses Latin annotations: SE for Septentrionalis/North, ME for Meridionalis/South, OR for Orientalis/East, and OC for Occidentalis/West. The needle is missing.