Nashville  

 Sundial: 1069
State/Province:  Tennessee Country:  USA
Dial Type:  Armillary Sphere Condition:  Excellent
  Latitude and Longitude: 36° 05.455′ N  87° 46.490' W
Location:
  • Located in the center of the Kitchen Garden of the Tennessee Governor's Residence. The dial is visited by hundreds of school children each year.

    Tours of the Tennessee Residence and grounds are offered free of charge by appointment only on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:00am. Times are subject to availability. Requests must be submitted at least two weeks in advance of the requested tour using this link: https://www.tn.gov/residence/schedule-a-field-trip-tour.html
 
Description:
  • This armillary sphere is based on a Chinese design with an equatorial ring containing Arabic hour marks but the meridian ring exists only below a longitudinal ring set to the dial's latitude. The dial presents Tennessee's identity and is dedicated to the school children of Tennessee. 4 copper columns support the dial, honoring the Greek and Roman tradition of placing a sundial in the center of a garden. The capital and base are cast bronze and the foundation is Tennessee crab orchard limestone. Surrounding the base are 5 tomato plants, the State fruit. 3 are enameled red to represent the three stars in the State flag. Sitting on the base is the eastern box turtle, State reptile. Branches from a tulip poplar, the State tree, extend from the north end of the gnomon and a mockingbird, the State bird, sits in the branches. The branches are made of forged bronze and the leaves are copper, cut by hand, then repousséd or shaped by hammering on the reverse side, then enameled. The mockingbird is made of raised and repousséd copper with enamel for color. The legs are bronze for strength.

 
General Information:
  • Owner: Tennessee State Government
  • Designer: Jim Masterson
  • Builder: National Ornamental Metal Museum
  • Construction Date: July 2014
 

Attachments Available:

Last Revised: 2022-08-17 13:55