A terrella tiled from an original oil portrait

from an original oil portrait by Jervas at the Royal Society

sailing from Plymouth to New York City in 40 days

Inscribed in ink: 'Capsicum fructu rugoso maximo plerumque nutatnte Rand n

with hands of a sensitive refinement in painting worthy of the most respectful study"

18th April 1953

A terrella tiled from an original oil portraitA terrella ('little earth') is a sphere made of a magnetized substance, used to simulate the magnetic field of the earth. In the 16th century the English physician William Gilbert used a terrella made out of lodestone (a naturally occurring magnetized mineral) to demonstrate that the earth is magnetic, and to explain how mariner's compasses work. 17th century