This silver and ivory pocket sundial with compass, made in Amsterdam around 1640 by Gerardus Brand, is contained in a circular ivory case with a screw-threaded cover. Set into the base is a printed paper compass card with scale divisions, a central wind rose with cardinal points, and a blued steel needle. The silver mount is finely pierced and engraved, and holds at its centre a folding sundial in the form of a stylised arabesque. The outer ring is engraved with Roman numerals and half-hour divisions.
A Silver and Ivory Pocket Sundial with Compass
Portable sundials with compasses were both scientific instruments and luxury objects. The compass served to orient the sundial correctly to the north, allowing the gnomon to cast its shadow accurately on the engraved hour ring. Such instruments were used not only for timekeeping but also as teaching tools and symbols of learning.
Gerardus Brand (1594–1659) was born in Middelburg and later settled in Amsterdam, where his workshop was located on the Rokin, opposite the Exchange. He was active as a clockmaker and is also recorded as a maker of sundials. Counted among the known scientific instrument makers of the early seventeenth century, his surviving work is rare and exemplifies the refinement and precision of these small constructions.
This sundial is signed Gerardus Brand fecit Amftelodami.