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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Sandglass · Place not recorded

Five-phial hourglass

Verified

The hourglass is in a carved, painted wooden frame and comprises two parts, between which there is a metal disk pierced with a hole. The large phial contains enough red sand for one hour. The other phial consists of four bulbs, each of which measures one quarter-hour.

Technical facts

Inventory number
MIH V-28
Object type
Sandglass
Dating
late 17th – early 18th c.
Dimensions (catalogue)
haut.: 39.5 cm

Historical significance

  • The hourglass is in a carved, painted wooden frame and comprises two parts, between which there is a metal disk pierced with a hole. The large phial contains enough red sand for one hour. The other phial consists of four bulbs, each of which measures one quarter-hour.
  • Hourglasses were designed to measure the length of an event. They were sometimes used in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries by the navy to time night watches, and in churches and courts to limit the length of sermons and speeches.

Photographs

Five-phial hourglass (MIH V-28)
Five-phial hourglass (MIH V-28) — Musée international d'horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Museum collection photograph, rights review pending. MIH collection record

Photographs are illustrative examples of the type, not necessarily the exact object described. Verify details against the source file page.

Sources & references

  1. Musée international d'horlogerie, online collection record, inv. V-28: https://collection.mih.ch/fr/collection/item/42064/

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.