Museo Galileo
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Surveying compass
    • Setting:
      Room V
    • Maker:
      Humphrey Cole
    • Place:
      London
    • Date:
      1575
    • Materials:
      brass
    • Dimensions:
      length 350 mm
    • Inventory:
      2527
    • Surveying compass (Inv. 2527)

Flat-legged surveying compass signed by Humphrey Cole. There are a degree scale (up to 180°), folding sights, and scales for measuring land plots and timber. The degree scale serves to measure position angles in surveying. The legs also fold out to 180°, enabling the instrument to be used as a ruler or alidade for a plane table. Provenance: Robert Dudley bequest to the Medici collections.