Hourglass (sand), 17th century

Record summary

Held and catalogued by Museo Galileo, Florence (object number Inv. 429), this is a hourglass, made in Italian?, dated 17th century. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Instruments collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: ebony, boxwood, glass. Recorded dimensions: height 110 mm. The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Atlas type guide

Sandglasses and hourglasses

A sandglass measures an interval rather than telling the time of day: a fixed quantity of fine material runs from one bulb into the other through a narrow neck. Documented in Europe from the fourteenth century, sandglasses were used on board ship to time watches and to measure speed with the log line, in churches to time sermons, in schools, laboratories and kitchens.

Early glasses were made as two separate bulbs bound together at the neck with a diaphragm and wax and thread; one-piece blown glasses only became usual in the nineteenth century. The 'sand' could be powdered marble, eggshell or metal filings, carefully sieved and dried. Sets of graduated glasses in one frame allowed several intervals to be timed.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.