Lot 426

Leonhard Miller, Nuremberg, 57 x 92 x 12 mm, dated 1611
A fragment of a portable folding ivory equatorial sundial
A round horizontal dial on an ivory baseplate with hour division enclosed formerly an inset compass with a brass-set glass cover. A lid connected by four hinges has an inner vertical dial, also with hour division. The gnomon was a piece of string spanning between the two plates; different pole heights could be set by feeding the string through one of three holes in the lid. Above the vertical dial horizontal lines with the signs of the zodiac are inscribed "Quantitas Diei" and indicate the respective length of the days; the needle-shaped gnomon above is part of this arrangement. Below the round horizontal dial two more dials are engraved in the ivory: one shows the Italian hours, another the Babylonian hours. Signature of the maker: "Lienhart Miller 1611".
The cover of the sundials shows on the outside a sixteen-part compass rose with the sun in the middle; the compass rose is framed by leaves and branches. The outside of the baseplate shows - again framed by branches and leaves - a circular conversion table for moon and sun hours with the moon age on the outer ring and an inner ring with double 12 hour scale. The revolving brass disc in the center is missing. The baseplate has a small compartment on the left side that can be covered with a small brass lid - probably intended for keeping spare parts such as pieces of string. The lid and the baseplate each have four ornamental studs on the outside.
Lienhart (Leonhard) Miller was born before 1580 and died after 1652. He usually signed his work in the way we see on this sundial - with his master’s mark, a heraldic lily and added the year the piece was created; from the many signed pieces we can assume that he was active from 1602 to 1651.