Posted 8 years ago
Efesgirl
(1017 items)
I bought this from a local thrift shop this morning. It depicts Adam, Eve and the snake.
My research lead me to the village of Naunton, UK:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naunton
"Naunton is a village in Gloucestershire, England. It is situated in the Cotswolds, an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB); approximately 6 miles west of Stow-on-the-Wold and 12 miles east of Cheltenham. It stands on the river Windrush.
The population of Naunton in 2000 was 371,[1] reducing to 352 at the 2011 census.[2] There has probably been a settlement here for at least 2000 years. Formerly an agrarian based community[1] with the customary supportive trades[1] the turn of the second millennium witnessed a state of advanced transition into a dormitory type village[1] devoid of shops since 1999 and with spiraling property prices that most local people can no longer afford whilst still enjoying a fairly vibrant community spirit.[1]
The church, which is dedicated to St Andrew,[3] is largely 15th century but replaces an older Saxon church on the same site. It is known for two 18th century sun dials one of which is above a Latin inscription Lux Umbra Dei meaning "light is the shadow of God".
The 1998 Grand National winner, Earth Summit was prepared for the race in the village."
Whether my pendant has anything to do with the Naunton sundial is another matter, LOL!
UPDATE 6/16/2017: My pendant is silver. Acid tested twice. YAY!
Thanks for looking,
Bonnie
Thank you Thomas!!
What a great find And it's a sundial!! Fabulous.
I feel like I should stand up, Bonnie !
Eve's got luscious fruit and Adam's really packing nuts there.
I snorted at that one NOOB!
This is actually really really neat Bonnie, love it.
LOL noob! Yes, Adam is anatomically correct on the front and on the back!!!
That's a super cool find!
900!!!!!!! 900 Jedi bargains... and interesting posts!!! This one is striking, both faces ;-))
Keep on such a good job Bonnie!
900th post, GREAT Bonnie, that's a lot of information, and not to mention Silver and Gold too! :^)
I love you guys!!! :-)))))))))))
CONGRATS &THANK YOU, Bonnie for being here for 900 post, that's lot of hard work, keep them coming.
Beautifull piece, I've will jump on it too.
Regards
Alan
Thanks, Alan!! :-))))
Stow-on-the- Wold a wonderful part of the UK, I have many happy memories in that part of the world.
Peasejean55 - I lived for three years in the UK, based in the Cotswolds. I loved it there!
I think you are spot on about where this comes from. Great find! If you look hard at the dial, at the bottom, above the VI, it says 48 & then the degree mark that is no longer on a keyboard. I think there may be some way to actually use this as a sundial. Otherwise really no need to design a souvenir to open this way.
Anyone out there who knows how to orient a sundial?
I note what looks like a very deliberately made hole near the base of the tree. Guessing this has something to do with how it works.
Unfortunately, they do not explain how to use them on this page, but these look like modern versions of your pendant:
https://www.nomos-glashuette.com/the-watches/sundial/
We're trying to figure out how to use something made in a place called Naunton ? Wonder what they were trying to spell ? LOL !!
It`s called gnomon. Pinhole image of the sun to tell time. Or possibly there was retractable gnomon to cast the shadow.
More info here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnomon
Appears to be what Wiki calls a 'pinhole gnomon', no additional parts needed. Question is, how does '48 degrees' help a user to orient it to get the correct time of day?
Oh I have a sundial with a similar model but depicting a Pegasus! Most likely it’s from the same source!
I have a what I assume to be a Capricorn version of this pendant, much simpler and cast in brass. I've also seen a Gemini version someone bought on ebay. Curious to know where they came from.