JEWELLERY, DECORATIVE & FINE ARTS AUCTION Tuesday, 17 February 2026 / 10:00 am start
A late Victorian Royal Navy pattern 20 patent binnacle with liquid boat compass,
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Lot Details
by the celebrated instrument makers Dent & Co London, c.1894. The mahogany compass base housing with hinged front opening and a brass pyramidal and thick cut bevelled glass viewing section above. The base section opens to reveal the compass bowl with integral locking mechanism for transit and a receptacle for a spare candle. The back of the door has paper instructions. The sprung candle lamp fixed to one side with vented housing and chimney. The screw cap top with maker's details, serial 'No.800' and broad arrow military mark. The arrow and serial number matching and stamped to the dial's bezel and to one side of the base. The Dent patent boat liquid compass contained within a brass bowl on a gimballed mount with a mica card graduated to half points and a central float. It is detailed with a fleur de lys at the North point with Dent written across. Note: Established in 1814 by Edward John Dent (1790-1853), Dent & Co. Ltd. were innovative scientific instrument makers and horologists, or clock makers. Amongst their most famous builds are the Standard Clock at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich (1871) which was to keep ‘Greenwich Mean Time’, and the Great Clock for the Houses of Parliament, also known as ‘Big Ben’ (1946). They were also responsible for creating precision chronometer used by influential navigators and explorers on their voyages, including the likes of Darwin when he was aboard the HMS Beagle (1831), and Livingstone (1850) and Stanley (1890) in Central Africa. Provenance: Purchased A. Middleton 1988 £1800.
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