Pomfret School Sundial, (sculpture).

Pomfret School Sundial, (sculpture).

Farmer & Brindley, fabricator.

Turnbull, Charles, sculptor. (copy after)

Mather, William, Sir, assistant.

Dollard & Company, contractor.

Pomfret School Sundial, (sculpture).

Installed 1912.

Digital Reference:

Marble, partially painted.

Approx. 20 x 15 x 15 ft.

(On north side of sundial, above emblematic shield:) EST REPOSITA JUSTITAE CORONA (On south side of sundial, above emblematic shield, incised letters:) 1581, EST DEO GRATIA (On west side of sundial, above emblematic shield:) GRATIA DEI MECUM (On east side of sundial, above emblematic shield, incised letters:) POSUI DEUM ADJUTOREM MEUM (On north side of top riser of base:) Oxf. U/Farmer & Brindley Ltd/sculptors London/Dollard & Co Ltd./opticians London (On south side of base:) The Gift of/William Ross Proctor/to Pomfret School/1912/An Appreciation (On west side of base:) warned by their teaching (On top riser of east side of base, incised letters:) Loyalty is e'er the same Whether it win or lose the game True as the dial to the sun Although it be not shined upon and: The passing shadows which the sunbeams throw Athwart the dial time's hastening footsteps show; Warned by their teaching, work e'er day be o'er Soon comes the night, when man can work no more. signed Founder's mark appears.

A sundial consisting of a base, column, square top, and finial. In all it incorporates 27 sundials, copied from the 1581 original at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. The octagonal plinth of the sundial has four risers, which support the octagonal base of the column. The column is incised with meteorological data, which form a perpetual calendar giving the dates of fixed and moveable ecclesiastical feasts. The column's capital, is a molded cornice with drop finials at each corner. The square box-like section on top of the column has colorful shields on each side, raised and painted red, white and blue, which are the arms of the founder and chief benefactor of Corpus Christi, the Royal arms of the Tudors, and the arms of the University of Oxford. Above the shields rises a pyramid with a sundial on each face, the whole crowned by a heraldic pelican, the symbol of Corpus Christi. The pelican stands on a globe with its beak at its breast and it wings held up and back.

Animal -- Bird -- Pelican

Object -- Other -- Globe

Emblem -- Coat of Arms

Emblem -- Zodiac

Outdoor Sculpture -- Connecticut -- Pomfret

Pomfret School, Building & Grounds, 386 Grosvenor Road, Front lawn, Pomfret, Connecticut 06258

The sundial was a gift from William Ross Proctor, whose son William Ross Proctor Jr., was a member of the class of 1912. The sundial is a replica of the Turnbill Column executed in 1581 by Charles Turnbill and located at Corpus Christi College, Oxford University. The sundial was fabricated by the firm Farmer & Brindley of London and was shipped from London by Dollard and Company. Sir William Mather calculated the adjustments for the sundial. In 1971, the sundial was restored with a donation from William Ross Proctor, Jr. and one of his fellow alumni. IAS files contain excerpt from the school's newspaper - The Pontefract, Jan. 29, 1944. For additional information see: Philip Pattenden's "Sundials at an Oxford College," Oxford: Roman Books, 1979; and Philip Pattenden's "The Pelican Sundial: Description of the Tables," Oxford: Roman Books.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Connecticut survey, 1994.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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