This piece is a reproduction of an instrument dated 1570, signed by Humphrey Cole, and preserved in the British Museum in London. The original has two faces, one of which is this nocturnal.
This nocturnal is a device used to tell time at night using fixed stars in the sky. Created in the early 16th century, it fell out of use in the 18th century. This piece is designed to measure time using Polaris and the star Kochab.
