Butterfield dial for latitudes 35°-50° North. It has an octagonal dial-plate on which are four concentric hour scales. All the markings are in Arabic. Two of the hour scales are marked by Turkish numerals and the other two by 'abjad' numerals. The compass is set into the dial-plate and, together with a single leg at the opposite end, it supports the plate. The cardinal points are named in Arabic and North is offset 5° West to allow for magnetic variation. The hinged gnomon is adjustable for latitudes 30°-50°. A bird index marks the latitude. The compass base and the reverse side of the dial-plate are engraved with a table of 26 cities with their latitudes in Arabic. It contains places in the Near-East and North Africa and also European cities such as Paris and Rome. The dial has an octagonal white metal case with red velvet lining.

This dial was made for the Turkish market. The highly stylised appearance of the engravings suggests that they were made by a European rather than by a native speaker. The signature on the obverse, 'amila biyun fi paris', names Bion as maker and a second person as engraver, 'ma'ir huqqaq', whose name can be read as 'Mayer', 'Maire' or 'Meir', etc. It is tempting to think that this refers to a member of the renowned Le Maire family. A sundial made for the Turkish market, and signed 'Le Maire fils a Paris' in Latin script, was sold at Christie's on 7 October 1982 as lot no. 25 (cf Anthony Turner [in preparation]).

For more information regarding this dial please refer to the OUP & NMM catalogue, 'Sundials at Greenwich'.