V. FALCONE ‘S MOSAIC
SUNDIAL
TECHNICAL DATA FOR THE
SUNDIAL AND MATERIALS
Sundial
designed and produced entirely by
FALCONE Valentino
18, Rue du 21 Novembre
68790 MORSCHWILLER LE BAS
For coordinates 47° 44 12’’ Lat.N. 7° 16’ 36’’ Long. E. Décl.. 5° E.
Installed
since March 7th 2005 on the S
wall (5° decl. E.) of his house at the
address given above.
It is 112
cm high by 106 cm wide. It weighs 96 kg.
The mosaic
was made by indirect insertion of mosaic pieces into about ten separate panels,
using cement-glue to glue them onto 6 mm thick panels of “eternit” (asbestos-free fibro ciment), as
they were produced. These panels were set into a brass frame consisting of
angle pieces 40 mm X 40 mm, 4 mm thick, then reinforced at the back with a
structure of round iron struts and a concrete casting to make the whole thing
really rigid.
The mosaic
parts were obtained by sawing 8 mm thick ceramic squares designed for outdoor
applications, then reduced to the dimensions and shapes required, using tungsten
carbide pincers.
10 diamond
disks and 5 pairs of these pincers were required to obtain the number of parts
needed, 8 mm by 8 mm for the largest and 2 or 3 mm for the smallest.
In all,
about 15 000 mosaic pieces were needed and there were cut and ajusted by hand.
All the
materials were chosen to withstand variations in temperature from – 30 to + 80°
C, as well as weather conditions including rain, hail, etc.
The latin
phrase “HORAS NE NUMERUM NISI SERENAS” is translated as : “I only
want to count serene times”, in its double meaning of sunny times as
well as peaceful times.
The two
madallions on the upper part of the dial, representing a hare and a tortoise,
provide and amusing allusion to La Fontaine ‘s fable with its well-known moral :
“there is no point in rushing, you must simply leave in time”.
