Compass in binnacle, George Stebbing, 1819
wood, brass, copper, iron, lead, glass, ruby, mica and paper, h 83.5cm × w 44.5cm × d 41.8cm Catalogue entry
The ship’s compass was used to determine the course of a vessel and was thus the most important instrument on board. At night it could be safely kept in this binnacle (in Dutch nachthuis or ‘night house’). A small built-in lamp made it possible to read the compass in the dark.
