Instruments · Sand-glass

Sand-glass set (x4) fitted into an ebony case, inlaid with ivory. Italian, c1600

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.

Maker / attribution: Unrecorded in source
Date: 1575-1625
Historical period: Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
Country of origin: Italy
Place: Italy
Object type: Sand-glass
Materials / technique: Blown glass in a frame of ebony inlaid with ivory (or bone)
Dimensions: Height: 8.3 cm; Width: 14.5 cm
Holding institution: Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Accession / object no.: 82-1880

Record summary

Held and catalogued by Victoria and Albert Museum, London (object number 82-1880), this is a sand-glass, made in Italy, dated 1575-1625. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Instruments collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Blown glass in a frame of ebony inlaid with ivory (or bone). Recorded dimensions: Height: 8.3 cm; Width: 14.5 cm. 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

V&A — Summary

During the 16th and 17th centuries sandglasses were used in various situations: in churches, typically to time the sermon; on ships to time the length of the watches; in the kitchens of wealthy households, probably to help judge cooking times. They are often illustrated in scholars' studies where they served meditation, or simply helped judge the time of day. Sandglasses in this period were constructed from two matching glass ampoules sealed (often with wax or pitch) and bound with fabric at the joint. The 'sand' was usually a material less sensitive to moisture such as powdered metal, rock or eggshell. These four sandglasses in a single frame run for different periods, probably subdivisions of an hour, but it has not been possible to time them precisely as the particles no longer run freely.

V&A — Physical description

A sand-glass set or ‘battery’ of four glasses each composed of two ampoules or phials, mounted in a frame of ebony with ivory or bone inlay.

V&A — Historical context

Comparable sand-glasses See: C. F. C. Beeson, 'Sandglass in cloth of gold’, in Antiquarian Horology,_ 1968, 417-418 and and front cover picture (p. 385). With numbers for the quarter hours painted on the ampoules. Possibly the same piece as included in Anna, Dominique and Eric Delalande, Sabliers d’autrfefois... , Paris 2015, pp. 170-173 The portait by Hans Eworth of William Cecil, First Baron Burghley, c.1565 (Hatfield House) depicts a broadly similar sand-glass.

V&A — Object history

Bought for £3 from Mons. Fulgence, Paris. Display history: displayed in room 5 (case W.129) by 1925 (with 83-1880), and in room 74 (1964); in store (room 125s) by the 1980s. These four sandglasses in a single frame run for different periods, probably 15min, 30min, 45min & 1 hour, although 5, 10, 15 & 20 minutes are also possible; it is not possible to time them as the particles no longer run freely. It is likely to have been used for timing private study or personal devotions.

Historical context

Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)

Huygens' pendulum and balance spring transform accuracy; English makers develop the anchor and deadbeat escapements.

Pocket sundials, Butterfield dials and sandglasses remained essential companions to imperfect clocks; navigators used sandglasses and the log line; observatories began to combine telescopes with pendulum clocks.

Read the period in the timeline More instruments from this period Earlier: Renaissance Horology

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.

What to look for

Whether the two bulbs are separate and bound at the neck, or blown as one piece.
The frame: turned wood, brass, silver or pewter, sometimes with pillars and decorated end plates.
Multiple glasses in a single frame, giving quarter, half, three-quarter and full hours.
Marine glasses of 30 seconds or 28 seconds used with the log line.

Dating clues

Bound two-piece glasses predate about 1800; one-piece glasses are generally later.
Sermon glasses on pulpits and multi-glass frames are characteristic of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries.

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.

Mechanisms mentioned

No escapement or complication is named in the source record. See the encyclopedia for how such pieces work.

Record completeness

Maker or attributionNot in source
DateRecorded
Place or countryRecorded
MaterialsRecorded
DimensionsRecorded
Narrative descriptionRecorded
Inscriptions / marksNot in source
ProvenanceNot in source
Several photographsNot in source

Editorial status: Documented — facts as published by the source; not independently verified by Atlas editors.

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Sources & image rights

Record source: Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Image rights: © Victoria and Albert Museum (non-commercial terms) — permission review.

Images are hosted by the Atlas for study and credited to their owner. Rights holders may request correction, credit changes or removal via the editorial office.

Cite this record

"Sand-glass set (x4) fitted into an ebony case, inlaid with ivory. Italian, c1600." Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 82-1880. Catalogue record in The Horology Atlas, WatchMuseum.org, https://atlas.watchmuseum.org/museum/sand-glass-set-x4-fitted-into-an-ebony-case-inlaid-with-ivory-it-b61ec1.