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Nautical circle
    • Setting:
      Room V
    • Inventor:
      Robert Dudley
    • Maker:
      Charles Whitwell
    • Place:
      English
    • Date:
      late 16th cent.
    • Materials:
      brass
    • Dimensions:
      diameter 730 mm
    • Inventory:
      1116
    • Nautical circle (Inv. 1116)
    • Nautical circle (Inv. 1116)

Designed by Robert Dudley and made by Charles Whitwell, this large disk bears only a superficial resemblance to the astrolabe inv. 1123, 1124, 1127. In fact, it probably belonged to a more complex instrument described in Dudley's Arcano del mare. A ruler complete with circle also forms part of this navigation instrument. Provenance: Robert Dudley bequest to the Medici collections.