Discovery of 'early computer' raises "tantalising possibilities,' say experts

An ancient scientific tool used to determine the time of day is going up for auction this week at Christie's auction house.

The medieval device, known as a 'horary quadrant', is a slice of copper plate with engraved metrics to calculate the sun's positioning.

It also features a sundial that tells the time during 12-hour-long working days between sunrise and sunset. On the back, it has a calendar for Easter.

The tool is inscribed with the year 1311, making it the oldest scientific instrument known to date.

Experts have since suggested it raises the "tantalising possibility" that another tool (known as the Canterbury Astrolabe Quadrant, and was said to date back to 1388) was actually made for 1312.

"These quadrants were probably the tools of merchants, senior churchmen and scholars," specialist James Hyslop explained. "The knowledge they provided would have revolutionised the way people in the Middle Ages lived."

The extraordinary tool, described as 'an early computer' will go to auction on 13 December, and is estimated to sell for approximately £100,000 - £150,000.

It will also be joined by one of the rarest microscopes by Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723), a tool that can reach a magnification of 285x.⁣

It comes after a woman was expected to rake in a staggering $250,000 from a $4 painting she picked up from a local charity shop.

The buyer stumbled across the painting a few years back after being on the hunt for photo frames she could upcycle.

Six years later, the piece of art was put up for auction on Bonhams Skinner, which specialises in services for fine art, antiques, jewellery and more.

The listing describes the painting by Newell Convers Wyeth (1882-1945) as depicting "the tension between Ramona and her rigid and overbearing foster mother, Señora Moreno," and was worth approximately US$150,000 - US$250,000.

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