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Gunner's Caliper
Unsigned
circa 1600; Dutch
Iron; 690 x 130 x 60 mm

This unsigned and undated caliper, whose country of origin is uncertain, would have been used to measure the outer diameter of a round or cylindrical object, such as a cannon ball.

In the art of war a cannoneer had to make sure that the diameters of his cannon balls were within a narrowly defined range: slightly too large and they would not fit, too small and their velocity of exit would be so slow as to render them useless.

Museum Boerhaave, Leiden
Inventory no. 22973

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