SUNDIALS – Page 3 – ROLLING HARBOUR GALLERY

DOLLOND SUNDIAL AT ROUSHAM HOUSE, OXFORDSHIRE

Published on June 18, 2012July 10, 2012 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

DOLLOND SUNDIAL AT ROUSHAM HOUSE, OXFORDSHIRE

COMPTON: THE WATTS GALLERY, WATTS CHAPEL – THE ARTS & CRAFTS MOVEMENT

Published on May 10, 2012September 26, 2019 by Rolling Harbour3 Comments

The newly restored Watts Gallery showcases the work of artist G. F. WATTS. There is also work by his wife MARY WATTS, though that is best seen at the Watts Chapel a short walk from the Gallery. I found material for 3 of my Themes – sundials, mazes** and (stretching the definition somewhat) ‘stone’ marks. Here are examples in the first two categories; I’ll leave the remarkable terracotta gravestones (and their lettering) for another time.

SUNDIALS AT COMPTON

The Garden Sundial

An ususual sundial, now kept inside the Gallery

‘MAZES’ [**in fact LABYRINTHS] AT COMPTON

These apparent mazes are, as Ellen has rightly pointed out in her comment, strictly-speaking labyrinths. The distinction is this:

MAZES provide multiple paths with only one “correct” one

LABYRINTHS which provide a single path to the centre. Here, you should follow the raised rather than the recessed paths to understand how the labyrinth works

A ~~maze~~ labyrinth on the altar front in the Watts Chapel

Terracotta Angel holding a ~~maze~~ labyrinth outside the Chapel, among other elaborate ornamentation

This similar Angel and ~~maze~~ labyrinth was on the other side of the Chapel

LES CADRANS SOLAIRES: THE AMAZING CERAMIC TILE SUNDIALS OF COARAZE, PROVENCE

Published on March 9, 2012March 12, 2012 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

The sundials shown below are in Coaraze, a small medieval ‘village perché’ (650m) in the Alpes-Maritimes, Provence, north of Nice. They include sundials by artistic polymath Jean Cocteau, novelist, poet, dramatist, designer, artist and filmmaker; Ponce de Leon; and Henri Goetz, among others. They are located in two places in the village (1) on the front and side walls of the Marie (2) at the top of the village on a south-facing walls in the square in front of the church

MONA CRISTIE – LA CHEVAUCHÉE DU TEMPS

GEORGES DOUKING – LES ANIMAUX FABULEUX

JEAN COCTEAU – LES LÉZARDS (lizards are the historic symbol of the village)

GILBERT VALENTIN – LES TOURNESOLS

FABIENNE BARRE (2008) – on the side wall of the Marie, with a view of the village

ANGEL PONCE DE LÉON – BLUE TIME (1961)

HENRI GOETZ – LE PYTHON ET SA COURONNE EN VERT ET OR (1961)

SACHA SOSNO (2007)

“BEN” – BENJAMIN VAUTIER (2008)

CALENZANO ALTO’S ANALEMMATIC SUNDIAL, ITALY

Published on October 4, 2011October 4, 2011 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

This excellent analemmatic sundial is installed in the square at the very top of the small medieval town of Calenzano Alto, which perches on a hill above the major industrial sprawl and motorway network of the Arno plain between Prato and Florence.

The sundial takes up a substantial area of the large piazza, and consists of a central sun/moon stone mosaic with radiating ‘sight’ lines to small brass plates numbered from VI to XVIII (in fact number VI is missing, the rest are there). The gnomon is the person who stands at the centre of the sun. There are no buildings close enough to obstruct the sun’s light, so on a sunny or even a bright day, the time can be easily told at least approximately… were it not for the cars that are normally parked all over the square!