CHAPOTOT, PARIS: A late 17th / early 18th Century Butterfie...

Hammer

£1,000

CHAPOTOT, PARIS: A late 17th / early 18th Century Butterfield style silver pocket sundial by Chapotot, Paris thought to be circa 1680-1730. Octagonal form with engraved Roman chapter ring and hinged enamelled gnomon, with compass, 64mm x 57mm, housed within its original leather case (slight loss)

This type of portable sundial was a fashionable traveller's accessory during the late 17th century. The latitudes of towns in Europe including Paris, Rome, London, Madrid and Dublin are engraved on the back. The hinged gnomon (triangular flap made to create a shadow) could be adjusted according to latitude. The gnomon folds flat and the sundial has cut corners to enable the dial to be enclosed in a case and carried in a pocket.

The adjustable gnomon enabled the time to be read accurately in a variety of locations. Travellers still carried sundials even when watches became popular. Early watches were not always accurate for long and a dial enable them to be set regularly. A German travellers' guide of the time also recommended sundials over clocks while on the road because the chiming of clocks might attract thieves.

This type of sundial is known as a Butterfield style dial as it was originally designed by Michael Butterfield, an English instrument maker who worked in Paris during the late 17th Century.