Museo Galileo
italiano
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Virtual Museum
Geometrical square
    • Setting:
      Room II
    • Maker:
      unknown
    • Place:
      Italian?
    • Date:
      16th cent.
    • Materials:
      brass
    • Dimensions:
      side 162 mm, height 220 mm
    • Inventory:
      121
    • Geometrical square (Inv. 121)
    • Geometrical square (Inv. 121)

This geometrical square consists of a frame inscribed with the shadow square on two contiguous sides. At the corner opposite the one formed by the shadow square is a hinged shutter with sights. Inside the frame are a quarter-circle with the degree scale and a diagonal rod carrying a compass and magnetic needle at its center. A pillar attached to the back of the square allows the instrument to be installed on a wooden base and kept in a horizontal position during surveying work. This specimen resembles the model published by Georg von Peurbach in his treatise Quadratum geometricum (Nuremberg, 1516). Provenance: Medici collections.