Ancient Time in the Early Modern World: Neo-Latin Sundials

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Tuesday, March 25, 5:15 pm

George Peabody Library

Attendees learn about, assemble, and take home a 17th-century paper sundial.

Co-sponsored by the Department of Conservation & Preservation, Sheridan Libraries, JHU

What did timekeeping look like in antiquity? And why on earth was ancient timekeeping en vogue during the Age of Enlightenment? In this event, participants will encounter the one-of-a-kind Neo-Latin sundial, printed in 1675 for an aristocrat named Vincenzo Butari. It is the only known copy to survive. A variant—which features a similar engraving but very different text—survives in one copy, now in Rome, which includes annotated descriptions of the imagery used in this sundial. Attendees will hear a lecture from Dr. Martin W. Michalek, who has translated the broadside document and turned the sundial into a functional facsimile with the help of the Department of Conservation & Preservation at Johns Hopkins University.