This horizontal string gnomonsundial is a small and simple representative of one of the standard types of late 16th-century German portable sundial. The string gnomon is held by a support which is kept vertical by a hidden spring and the instrument is levelled by the plummet which is incorporated in the gnomon support. The inset compass adjusted for magnetic variation allows the instrument to be oriented towards true north.
The instrument was presumably commissioned by or for a certain 'H P' whose initials and coat of arms, along with the date 1589, appear on the outside of the cover.
