Scaphe dial
Unbekannter Künstler
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 vertically into the centre.
This dial provides a conveniently small, portable instrument, since the compass and scaphe dial can be stored within the body of the instrument. A similar dial is in the MHS, Oxford (new inventory no. 48123).
For more information regarding this dial please refer to the OUP & NMM catalogue, 'Sundials at Greenwich'.
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection