Capture the sun this Christmas, with a bespoke work by master dial maker David Harber

Join the likes of Judi Dench, George Michael and Jeremy Irons by commissioning a bespoke work by award-winning sundial-maker David Harber this Christmas. Working out of his Oxfordshire studio David creates bespoke pieces rooted in art, science and ancient ideas which make unique, creative Christmas, anniversary and birthday presents that will last a lifetime.
 
For Christmas 2011 and New Year 2012 David will be focusing on two designs: his popular trademark armillary sphere sundial, based on a 2,000 year-old design by the great astronomer and geographer Ptolemy to illustrate the idea of a geocentric universe, and the moon dial, an orb-like design developed last year which can be read both in the daytime as well as by moonlight.

Both make a striking addition to any garden in winter or summer and can personalised in several ways. The armillary designs can be engraved with locations special to the owner, such as the place a couple met, or where members of the family live, together with distances to the location from the dial, and the location’s longitude and latitude. The design can also incorporate special dates, such as wedding anniversaries and birthdays and mottos, etched around the rim of the design. Armillaries can be created in bronze, stainless steel and brass and mounted on elegant plinths in stone or granite.

The base of the moon dial can be etched with a motto which is read using the reflection of the convex surface of the dial. For this dial the gnomon – the arm used to mark the time of day, or night – can be scored to cast a shaft of light on a certain date; in the case of Balliol College, Oxford, which commissioned a moon dial to mark 30 years since women were admitted to the college, the dial marks 11 October, the date women first crossed the threashold as students. (the motto engraved on the Balliol moon dial reads ‘About Time’).

Works typically take 6 weeks from commission to installation, but for those wanting to surprise a loved one with something on the day itself, there’s still time: where possible David and his team can deliver a piece within three weeks.

Engraved armillary sphere sundials begin at £3,930 (ex VAT), Moondials at £6,900.

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Press Contacts and images:

For further information on David Harber and for high-resolution images please contact:

William Kallaway: 020 7221 7883 / william.kallaway@kallaway.com
Susannah Glynn: 020 7221 7883 / susannah.glynn@kallaway.com

IMAGES: http://mediacentre.kallaway.co.uk/davidharber-picture-library.asp

About David Harber works
www.davidharber.com; Twitter: @DavidHarber
David Harber works are rooted in art, science and ancient ideas. From his Oxfordshire studio David creates beautiful, one-off pieces on a human or monumental scale for indoor environments and outdoor landscapes. Works by David Harber are included in collections around the UK and abroad, from private gardens to corporate headquarters and including colleges at both Oxford and Cambridge and the Al Rawdha Palace, Bahrain. Clients have included Dame Judi Dench, Jeremy Irons and George Michael and his work has been unveiled by HM Queen Elizabeth, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and Prince Charles. Works by David Harber regularly win awards; in 2011 he was awarded the RHS Sundries Trophy at the Chelsea Flower Show for the fourth time.

About the artist
Educated at Dartington Hall School, one of the most artistic schools of the time, David Harber worked as an apprentice thatcher, a potter, and a professional mountaineer before converting a Dutch barge into a travelling theatre and arts centre and touring the waterways of Europe. His career as an outdoor sculptor began when Jeremy Irons bought his first armillary sundial. David lives in Oxfordshire and is married to Sophie. He has four children: Celeste, Maya, Freya and Romany. When not pursuing another passion – aviation – he is to be found at the family’s renovated lemon farm in Sicily.

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