LARGE IRON AND BRASS COMPASS WITH ADJUSTING SCREW - photo 1
LARGE IRON AND BRASS COMPASS WITH ADJUSTING SCREW - photo 2
LARGE IRON AND BRASS COMPASS WITH ADJUSTING SCREW - photo 3

LARGE IRON AND BRASS COMPASS WITH ADJUSTING SCREW

Lot 660
20.11.2025 10:00UTC +01:00
Classic
€
AuctioneerVAN HAM Kunstauktionen GmbH
Event locationGermany, Köln
Buyer Premium32%
ID 1488449
Lot 660 | LARGE IRON AND BRASS COMPASS WITH ADJUSTING SCREW
Estimate value
€ 2 000 – 3 000
LARGE IRON AND BRASS COMPASS WITH ADJUSTING SCREW.

South Germany.
Date: Ca.1600.
Technique: Forged iron, brass.
Description: At the top is a wide, cylindrical hinge with rounded ends and geometrically cut decorative
bands. The connecting legs, with notched edges on one side at the base, widen into
volute-like sections. Here there are the two eyelets of the large horizontal screw, with
fleur-de-lys cut wings at the ends. Under a capital-like transition, the legs are then
edged and taper to a point.
Measurement: Height 43cm, width 38cm.


Provenance:
Private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia. On loan to the Deutschen Schloss- und Beschlägemuseum Velbert from 2011 to 2025.

Literature:
Exhib. cat.: Preziosen der Handwerkskunst. Ein Raritätenkabinett edler Arbeitsgeräte aus der Sammlung Luigi Nessi, Lugano, Museum der Kulturen Basel, 2002, Basel 2002. A comparable compass is described and illustrated on p. 38, no. 2.

'From the 17th century onwards, Germany developed into a centre for the manufacture of high-quality compasses made of wrought iron; this craft flourished particularly in Nuremberg because the art of blacksmithing (fine smithing) was highly specialised.' (Handwerkskunst, 2002, p. 38).
The compass shown here probably originally belonged to a stonemason or blacksmith..
Auction house category:Early Works of Art
Address of auction VAN HAM Kunstauktionen GmbH
Hitzelerstr. 2
50968 Köln
Germany
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