71. Drawing compasses
XVII-XVIII cen.
author and place unknown
wood
c. 50 cm
The old inventories mention, among the Objects used for drawing, the presence of numerous two, three or four pointed compasses of different sizes.
Only two of these compasses have survived, one of which [Inv. MdS-143] was recognizable in the description given of it in the 1843 inventory:
"A large wooden compass with metal pin at hinge and brass washers; at the ends of the two legs are small brass rings with screws for fastening the below-mentioned spare parts.
Iron point
Iron point with pen
Brass point with pencil
Two brass points curved to measure the diameters of cylindrical and spherical solids."
Only the two iron points have survived of the accessories.
The other compass [Inv. MdS-144] has two fixed points and cannot be identified with any certainty in the inventories, in that a "large Compass with fixed steel points" is cited on several occasions. Such a compass is often mentioned among the instruments kept in "A damascene covered Case with gilded Arabesques and Coat-of-arms of his Majesty Pope Benedict XIV", containing various mathematical instruments made by Angelo Lusverg. Both the case and the instruments went missing some time ago and hence attribution of this compass to Angelo Lusverg must be uncertain.
Also part of the drawing equipment are two small cylindrical boxes in wood [Inv. MdS-166a,b] in which were replaced the accessories of the compasses.