Hi
John,
It will not serve as a gnomon but my favourite door knocker is the
"Hand of Fatima". Great protection from the evil eye. You see them all over
southern Europe, in areas influenced
by the Moslems. Mine is a brass casting from southern France. Below is a typical description that Google
found. Sorry, no sundial content in this email.
Roger
Bailey
![]() Fatima's Hand
Door Knocker
Associated in Islam with healing
powers of Fatima, Prophet's daughter, and therefore regarded as bringing luck.
The hand of Fatima (hamsa) is favorite motif for pendants, door knockers,
hinges, etc. in Morocco and all Maghreb and Middle East. Such door knocker is
believed to guard people and buildings from bad luck.
Door Knocker Gnomons
Looking at that SGS on Carl's webpage got me
thinking. Has anybody ever seen a vertical sundial on a outside door of
a building that has a door knocker that doubles as a gnomon? I wonder
what the best type of gnomon would be? A cone or a triangular gnomon
might stab your visitors in the eyes.
How about a ball on a rod? The rod could
hang down from a hinge. The ball at the end of the rod would be the door
knocker. I envision a pretty brass sundial bolted to the door with the
brass door knocker gnomon hanging down in front of it. (You could even
attach a little handle to the rod and it wouldn't cast obnoxious
shadows.)
Tony, are you listening? This sounds like
something you could do.
John
p.s. I didn't see a door knocker on Carl's door
SGS. I guess a doorknocker on stained glass wouldn't be such a great
idea!
|
---------------------------------------------------
https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial
