19th Century Compass and Sundial Together

20th century set of French decorative gilt wrought iron sconces with glass shadows. Measures: Pair sconces: W 14.56in, D 4.72in, H 8.26in.  

Neoclassical style brass fireplace tools. French. Circa 1970.

Crucifix from the mid-1800s with a carved shroud or veil depicting Christ in the base. This unique and remarkable antique crucifix can both be used as a table and as a wall crucifix. Over the decades we have sold a number of unique and very well crafted crucifixes, but never one in the Art Deco style with this combination of materials and techniques. The overall design and size is what stands out first, but the details and the materials are what make this antique work of religious art extraordinary. The relatively large base of this unique crucifix is a work of religious art in its own right. It is almost as if the cross is growing from this beautiful base and the cross itself too comes with a number of superbly inlays details. With their symbolic meaning of birth and resurrection it is obvious why the artist / sculptor so tastefully incorporated them here. Apart from a minor 'lean' to the left, the cross itself too is in excellent condition. If one were to speak of a trinity in this crucifix then the unique base and cross are completed with an equally striking, solid bronze corpus of Christ...

Bronze and brass valet stand dressboy, 1940s A gentleman's valet with many interesting details. The valet is in a very good original condition w...

Compass with pocket sundial, with case. Bronze. BUTTERFIELD, Michael (1635-1724). Paris, circa 1700. Pocket sundial made of engraved metal, with a gno...

Sundial and compass with case. Bronze. SCHRETTEGGER, Johan. Augsburg, Germany, around 1800. Sundial with a polygonal shape made of bronze, engraved with plant elements on the front,...

Sundial with compass and case. Bronze. BION, Nicholas. Paris, 18th century. Polygonal sundial with a bird-shaped gnomon and engraved triangular piece, which presents, on one side, ...

Johann Michael Bergauer (Simonsfeld, 1676 - Innsbruck, 1745 circa) Mechanical equatorial sundial Signed: Michael Bergauer Insprugg? Innsbruck? Ante 1745 Gilded and silvered brass; glass. Measures: closed 1.29 x 3.50 x 4.92 in (33 x 89 x 125 mm); open 5.19 x 3.50 x 3.81 in (132 x 89 x 97 mm). Weight: the sundial 0.49 lb (224 g); the case 0, 20 lb (95 g) Original wooden case covered in brown leather. State of conservation: very good. It has some signs of use. The spring that allowed for the two parts of the instrument to remain open is missing (absent even in the comparative specimens kept in museums). The sundial is composed of two overlapping plates hinged together on the north edge. The base plate is octagonal and is supported by three turned legs. The upper face is gilded and a compass with a magnetic variation index has been inserted. The rest of the surface is occupied by a rich decoration of engraved scrolls, centered around the inscription “Michael Bergauer Insprugg”. A foldable oval support with a plumb-bob is attached with a hinge on the southern edge. On the reverse of the base plate a table of the latitudes of some European cities (expanded with the vertical writing “Meiland 40” on the edge and “Rome” deleted) and of Jerusalem has been engraved. A Cam marked for 0 °-70 ° is applied near the northern edge. This can be adjusted to change the inclination of the upper plate according to the latitude; originally a spring, now lost, made it possible to keep the two plates of the clock open. The second plate is round, has a toothed edge and measures 3.26 in (83 mm) in diameter: it is slightly smaller than the octagonal base which it rests upon and overlaps when the instrument is closed. The recto is gilded and there are three concentric graduated circles engraved on it: - the outermost is the equatorial hour dial, numbered I-XII, I-XII; - the second-one is that of days 1-30 of the lunar month and has “Aetas lunae” engraved on it; - the third, silvered, is a subsidiary hour dial, with double numbering 1-12; originally it could have been rotated. The engravings of the first two circles are enameled in red. In the center - on the polar axis - there is an alidade, at the end of which is associated the silvered minute dial. This, in turn, is welded, perpendicularly, to a small disc, also silvered, with a triangular gnomon. The plate, alidade and minute dial are connected to each other by toothed mechanisms. Below is the procedure for measuring the time: 1) Adjust the Cam under the base of the clock, based on the latitude of your location; 2) Place the watch on a flat surface using the plumb-bob and with the side closest to the compass facing south; 3) Keeping the instrument still, manually rotate the alidade until the shadow cast by the triangular gnomon on the small silvered disc falls on the line marked below it; 4) The hour and minutes can therefore be read on the hour and minute dials set on the alidade respectively. Johann Michael Bergauer, who sometimes only signs his works as Michael Bergauer, was born in Simonsfeld, north of Vienna. His apprenticeship as a watchmaker took place in Landshut and he probably worked as a laborer in Augsburg before becoming a watchmaker at the court of Karl Philipp von der Pfalz in Innsbruck in 1708. In the following years, his repeated attempts to obtain Innsbruck citizenship are documented and, in 1721, he is listed as a resident. In 1724 he was admitted to the guild of watchmakers, with which however he had continuous problems. In 1732 he presented a "masterpiece". This is the last reference to his business; he must have died before or in 1745 because in that year his widow appealed to the City Council. The mechanical sundial...