Engraved Slate Sundial – Heraldry, Coats Of Arms And Ermines – Folk Art

Late 18th centuryBrittany – Circa 1770–1800 A blueish slate wall sundial, trapezoidal in shape, hand-engraved with meticulous care, at the crossroads of a utilitarian object and a symbolic support. The whole, organized around a sixteen-pointed compass rose, is framed by an hour circle in Roman numerals, from VI to VI, according to traditional solar usage. Two holes (central and lower) testify to its fixed use on the facade, probably facing south. The surface is dominated by a heraldic composition with a naive but legible design: a coat of arms flanked by plant branches, bearing a stylized bell on the right and vertical poles on the left. This type of symbolic symmetry is frequently found in popular engravings of the 18th century, where heraldry is reinterpreted in a more accessible language. The presence of two opposing ermines, with elongated silhouettes, definitively embeds this object in the iconographic universe of Brittany: the ermine, totem animal of the duchy, becomes here an identity motif, both ornamental and significant. The engraved name "MR. ROVLLE", inscribed at the top of the dial, attests to a specific sponsor. The use of the "V" for "U" is typical of the scholarly spelling still in use at the end of the Ancien Régime. This type of personalized mention suggests an object of domestic prestige, commissioned by a clerk, a notary or a village master, that is to say a figure of knowledge in a rural environment. This dial fully reflects what can be described as enlightened popular art: a learned craftsman here puts codes from the sciences (gnomonics, solar orientation), heraldry, and regional imagination at the service of a local sponsor. The object, while being deeply rooted in a territory and a collective memory, adopts a rigorous graphic form that brings it closer to workshop productions. At the crossroads between the world of scholars and that of peasants, it testifies to a horizontal circulation of knowledge, specific to the popular art of the end of the 18th century. Historical and stylistic conclusion: Between scholarly rationality and symbolic roots, this sundial constitutes a frontier object, where the history of science, local heraldry and the codes of Breton identity meet. Its sober aesthetic, mastered without being academic, embodies the richness of popular expressions at a time when the Enlightenment penetrated the rural world. Dimensions: – Height: 29 cm – Width: 26 cm Condition: Very good general condition. Stable and easily legible surface. Wear from use, discreet chips at the corners. Absence of the solar style. Unrestored. Beautiful old patina. Delivery exclusively via DHL, with secure packaging, tracking and insurance.