Bronzed 30 Minute Hourglass

* 18th C. industrial design, bronze and wood.
* Collectable because of their combined historical and practical value.
* Some glasses measured up to two hours, used at a time when church pews were designed by the Inquisition to torture the human back.
* Ship's hourglasses were calibrated to the half hours of the ship's watch, and if the helmsman didn't turn the glass too early it actually doubled in defining longitude.
* Navigators tried to keep count of the hours: the galleons wrecked on the Western Australian reefs remind us of the perils of incorrectly kept time.
* To appreciate the important symbolism of the hourglass observe, Renaissance painted still lives, also called Vanitas, filled with symbolism and morals.
* They very often depict hourglasses.