Epact Scientific Instruments of Medieval and Renaissance Europe

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Quadrant
Signed by Christian Heiden
Dated 1553; German
Brass; 102 mm in radius

This unusual quadrant is in the form of a square instead of a quarter of a circle, as was more common. Besides scales for unequal hours and the shadow square, features commonly found on quadrants, this example has a grid for finding the latitude or the declination of the sun by means of the observation of the sun's altitude at noon.

On the back is a Regiomontanus-type dial and a table of latitudes, and finely engraved foliage decoration.

Museum of the History of Science, Oxford
Inventory number 38947

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