3584

Lisbon, 1789

RARE AND IMPORTANT 18TH CENTURY BOXED MARINER'S COMPASS BY PEDRO FREIRE

Signed and dated at the center of the 8" dry compass card "Pedro Freire Branco Afez Em Lisboa Anno 1789", with the last two numbers of the date (89) written by hand. Card beautifully engraved with an intricate compass rose design, the primary points detailed and embellished with foliate patterns, and the circumference of the card divided by hand into four 90-degree sections. Card applied to a mica disc backed with paper and spins on a brass and steel post mounted to the base of the compass box. Box features a removable glazed cover and has intricate hand-painted decoration that is in a remarkable state of preservation. Bottom of the box with marbleized background decorated with floral designs surrounding the center pin. Inside walls are constructed with eight panels, all having original paintings with various themes. Each of the four corner blocks titled on the top by the land mass -- America, Africa, Asia and Europa --, and has a rendering of an indigenous native of the continent and features a portrait of a famous explorer with ornate hand-painted borders and backgrounds depicting ships and the sea. Explorers include Vasco Da Gama, Infanted Heriq (Prince Henry), Chritov Colon (Christopher Columbus) and Bartolam Dias (Bartholomew Diaz). Portraits inscribed along the bottom: "Vasco Da Gama Primeyro defcobridor da India Oriental" (Discoverer of the East India); "Infatned Heriq de Portugal defcobridor das primeyras terras, que Portugal tem immediates em Europa. & o" (Discoverer of first lands that Portugal discovered from Europe to the East); "Christov. Colon Primeyro da America e Indis as Ocidentaes discobridor" (First to America and discoverer of the West Indies); and "Bartolam. Dias Defcobridor en Africa do Cabo La boa Speranca" (Discoverer of Africa and the Cape of Good Hope). Two of the side panels are detailed with four classical male figures pouring water from large urns, with the name below of a river that flows through Portugal to the Atlantic: "Douro", "Minho", "Tejo" and "Guadian".

The compass drops into a square housing box and sits on the original square brass gimbal frame on a pair of brass nibs. Each side of the housing box with an applied molded blackened border. Fancy pierced brass carrying handles on the sides of the box, mounted within diamond-shaped surrounds. Front and back of the box have a pair of hinged brass sighting vanes and removable sliding square panels that open to 3" square viewing ports. One can view through the windows and take a bearing using the vanes and headings marked on the side of the compass card. Removable panels with diamond-shaped tiered moldings. Box mounted on what appears to be the original circular base, which allows the box to be rotated.

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a6UmuC_EFU for a discussion about this item.
Exterior box height 10". Width 14.5". Depth 14.5".
Condition: Generally, excellent condition. There is some separation to the seams on the interior of the compass box, as to be expected from age and handling.

The absence of a condition report does not imply an object is free of defects. All items may have normal signs of age and wear commensurate with their age; these issues will likely not be mentioned in the condition report. Please contact Eldred's before the auction with any condition questions. Questions about condition will not be answered after purchase. Condition reports are provided as a courtesy, and we are not responsible for any errors or omissions. Important note on frames: Frames are not guaranteed to be in the same condition as they are in the item photograph. Due to handling and shipping, many frames, especially antique ones, are prone to losses. If you have questions about the condition of a frame, please contact us prior to the auction. 

  • Provenance:
    John F. Rinaldi Antiques, Kennebunkport, Maine, 2004.
    Hyland Granby Antiques, Hyannisport, Massachusetts.
    The Kelton Collection of Marine Art & Artifacts.
  • Literature:
    Marine Navigation Instruments by Jean Randier (London, John Murray, 1980), p. 6.
    "Antiques and Arts Weekly", July 13, 1990, p. 32.

    Notes:
    A similar Portuguese compass dated 1764 is on the frontispiece of Jean Randier's book and is in the collection of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. It is much less developed and appears to be lacking the exterior box. The "Antiques and Arts Weekly" article discusses a 1990 exhibit of navigational instruments and charts at the New York Public Library that included a Portuguese compass dated 1711. The article states "no Portuguese mariner's compass from the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries has survived", indicating the oldest Portuguese compasses extant are from the 18th Century.

    Richard Kelton's private notes on this piece state "This is probably the rarest and most decorative early navigational instrument we have seen in private hands in thirty years. This elaborate compass was probably prepared for someone associated with the Portuguese navigational school. The inclusion of the images and elaborate title given to Prince Henry, and the reference to the Portuguese rivers flowing into the Atlantic suggest a strong nationalist association. It is unlikely that such an elaborate compass was intended for hard use at sea--notwithstanding its gimbals. Rather it was probably used by a philosopher/scientist on shore who may have used its sighting ability to determine the azimuth of the sun and stars (see "Compass" by Alan Gurney, p.36). This would also account for its remarkable state of preservation.".

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August 5, 2022 9:30 AM EDT
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