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Primum Mobile
Signed by Egnatio Danti
Dated 1568; Florence
Brass; 279 mm in height

The 'Instrument of the Primum mobile' is also known as 'Peter Apian's quadrant', because it was invented and described by him in the treatise Instrumentum primi mobilis (Nuremberg, 1524).

The instrument can be used for calculating sines and cosines. It is signed with the abbreviation 'F.E.D.P.F.', demonstrating that it was made by the Dominican Friar Egnatio Danti. The quadrant is dedicated to Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici, as attested by the Medici coat-of-arms engraved on the face of the instrument. It was a part of the Medicean collection of scientific instruments and is also depicted on the part of the ceiling of the Galleria degli Uffizi which relates to mathematics.

Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, Firenze
Inventory no. 2643

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Basic URL: http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/epact/catalogue.php?ENumber=43630

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