The Private Collection of Theodor Beyer
Hotel Baur Au Lac, Zurich, Nov 16, 2003
LOT 3
Johan Martin in Augsspurg, circa 1710. Gilt brass and silver portable equinoctial "Augsburg" dial with compass.
CHF 3,000 - 5,000
EUR 2,000 - 3,300 / USD 2,200 - 3,700
Sold: CHF 5,290
Octagonally shaped, compass in the center, four cardinal points marked with their Latin initials, magnetic declination mark engraved at about 8 degrees, crescent shaped hinged Arabic silver hour sector set for the proper latitude via a latitude sector calibrated from 25 to 90 degrees, spring-loaded gnomon, back with gilt brass plate engraved with latitudes of 34 European cities, three silver feet. Signed on the lower edge "Johan Martin in Augsspurg". Dim. 52 x 47 mm.
| Grading System | |
|---|---|
Grade: AA |
Very good |
Case: 3 |
Good |
Movement: - |
|
Dial: 3 |
Good |
Notes
The "48" in the signature after the maker's name denotes the latitude of Augsburg.The so-called "Augsburg dials" hold a special place among universal equinoctial dials. They are characterized by an octagonal plate containing a compass, a hinged latitude arm and a hinged hour ring. Since most of them were made in Augsburg they became to be known as "Augsburg dials". Johan Martin (1642-1721). He was one of the best Augsburg makers of this type of instrument. Born in Frankfurt, he is recorded as a clockmaker in Augsburg in 1669. He invented the crescent-shaped equinoctial sundial.Similar dials by Martin are in various museums and private collections, such as the Leonard Linton Collection, the Greenwich Museum, the Basel Museum, etc. Literature: Maximilian Bobinger, "Alt-Augsburger Kompassmacher", Augsburg: Hans Rösler Verlag, 1966.