Epact Scientific Instruments of Medieval and Renaissance Europe

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Nocturnal And Quadrant
Signed by Lorenzo della Volpaia
Dated 1511; Florence
Brass; 77 mm in diameter

This small nocturnal is typical of the production of the Della Volpaia family. It is made up of three superimposed discs, each of which is engraved with different markings allowing the time to be calculated at night by arranging the discs according to the day and month of the observation.

The nocturnal is completed with indices and calibrated for a latitude of 43?, corresponding roughly to Tuscany.

The instrument is dated and signed by Lorenzo della Volpaia, the head of the family of craftsmen that remained active in the service of the Medici grand-dukes until the first quarter of the seventeenth century. This instrument originates from the legacy of the scientist Vincenzo Viviani.

Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, Firenze
Inventory no. 1305

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