381 - RARE SUNDIAL, PATINATED AND ENGRAVED BRONZE, GEORGE I, 18TH CENTURY - CIRCA 1720 - ENGLAND

RARE SUNDIAL, PATINATED AND ENGRAVED BRONZE, GEORGE I, 18TH CENTURY - CIRCA 1720 - ENGLAND 10 x 20 x 20 cm. Exquisite Baroque English sundial in patinated and engraved bronze with an octagonal profile. This is a beautiful scientific instrument, an original English sundial from the time of George I, circa 1720. The dial is profusely engraved with Roman numerals, Latin letters, and compass markings such as NN, NE, SE, and SW. The design is completed with a central star and the inscription or aphorism “Darkness brings day.” The dial features a wrought-iron gnomon that casts its shadow on the plate to indicate the time. Below the gnomon, a compass rose is centered on the plate. This object reflects the taste for complexity, allegory, and the study of time that was so characteristic of its era.