Paris
Half aune ≈ 594.25 mm
A candidate correspondence with the current total length.
SIC 2026 · 7–11 September · La Chaux-de-Fonds — Neuchâtel
The Metrological Enigma
of an Inlaid Rule
Between Measuring Instrument and Decorative Object
A prestige object, c. 593–594 mm long, whose structure appears deliberate, but whose historical unit, workshop and exact measuring operation remain unresolved.
Object at a glance
A quadrangular rod with engraved decoration, transverse boundaries and brass end caps. The wood species and inlay materials remain unidentified.
- Current measured length
- c. 593–594 mm · ±1 mm
- Decorated faces
- 4
- Reported interval values
- 5
- Large animal figures
- 8
- Unidentified stamped marks
- 2
1/1833 mm1/699 mm1/3198 mm1/3198 mm1/966 mm
1/6 + 1/3 = 1/299 + 198 = 297 mm ≈ half the total
Reported intervals · image left to right33, 99, 198, 198 and 66 mm
Numerical structure33 + 99 + 66 = 198; total ≈ 3 × 198 mm
The current length is not yet a precision metrology measurement. Fractions describe the nominal structure of approximately 594 mm.
Secondary hand-incised marks
These marks probably served later practical reference. No link to the original design, historical unit or manufacture is established.
What we know
- Quadrangular rod, c. 593–594 mm long.
- Four decorated faces.
- Dark wood, light engraved inlays and brass end caps.
- Two apparently identical stamps, one on each brass end cap.
- No continuous numerical scale visible.
- Transverse boundaries structure the decoration.
- Prestige measuring rods / ells are documented from the Renaissance onward.
- ODUT1283 is currently the closest known material parallel.
What remains open
- Exact historical unit and measuring operation.
- Place of manufacture and place of use.
- Workshop and exact date.
- Wood species and inlay material.
- Function and date of the brass end caps; whether they define the effective measuring length.
- Identification and purpose of the paired stamped marks.
The metrological puzzle
A coherent numerical structure.
An unresolved historical standard.
33 + 99 + 66 = 198 mm
1/18 + 1/6 + 1/3 + 1/3 + 1/9 = 1
Two adjacent intervals each represent 1/3. The three shorter intervals, split between the ends, together represent the remaining 1/3.
A mathematical description, not an identified historical standard.
Milan
Braccio ≈ 594.936 mm
A possible reading of the reported intervals in Milanese punti.
≈8 / 24 / 48 / 48 / 16 puntiImage left to right · 144 punti per braccio
At ±1 mm, length alone does not securely distinguish these candidates. Neither correspondence establishes the place of manufacture or use.
Four decorated faces
All eight large animals are oriented in the same direction. Examine each face to compare the two large decorative fields.
Photographic plates Shared orientation of all eight large animals
Face 1
- Left field
- fox-like
- Right field
- hound-like
Face 2
- Left field
- hound-like
- Right field
- hound-like
Face 3
- Left field
- fox-like
- Right field
- hound-like
Face 4
- Left field
- fox-like
- Right field
- hare-like
A 3+1 distribution in each large decorative field; the purpose of the pattern remains unknown.
Each of the two large decorative fields shows a 3+1 distribution across the four faces: a hound-like substitution in the left field on Face 2, and a hare-like substitution in the right field on Face 4.
Transverse boundaries structure the decorative fields.
Original photograph: 660 × 686 px.
Paired unidentified stamps
Two apparently identical stamped marks occur, one on each brass end cap. Their repetition links them to the terminal construction, but their purpose remains unknown.
Possible readings include control, maker or assembler, ownership, inventory, or later intervention. No secure regional, religious or corporative identification is established.
Brass end construction
The brass end caps may affect or define the effective measuring length.
Recognise these stamps?
Closest material parallel
An institutional reference for comparison.
No shared workshop demonstrated.
Petit Palais, Paris — ODUT1283 · c. 1535
658 × 17 × 13 mm
View photographs at Paris Musées
Photographic credit: © Magali Porcel / Petit Palais / Ville de Paris
Quadrangular ebony rule with engraved ivory hunting decoration. It is currently the closest known material parallel to the SIC object; no common workshop has been demonstrated. The comparison supports a transregional prestige-rule family, without establishing a recurrent “hunting-rule” subtype.
Museum attribution: “Italy?”
View the Paris Musées recordSecondary typological anchors
Germanisches Nationalmuseum
GNM W.J.378
Nürnberger Elle · XVIe century
Wood with mother-of-pearl inlays. South German evidence for a contemporary luxury inlaid ell tradition.
Science Museum
1942-28
Flemish ell · XVIIe century
Ebony measuring rod with inlaid divisions and a heraldic lion handle, reinforcing the transregional character of prestige measuring rods.
The evidence supports a transregional family of prestige measuring rods, not a single proven centre of manufacture. A recurrent historical subtype of “hunting rules” is not established.
Current Working Conclusion
Strongest current interpretation: a prestige linear measuring or reference rod, although this function is not yet materially proven.
- Structure
- Reported segmentation is coherent and potentially metrically discriminant.
- Limits
- No historical unit, place of manufacture, place of use or workshop is proven.
- Position
- The object is best presented as a well-defined research problem, not a solved attribution.
Research files & sources
The poster and supporting studies, available in full for independent examination.
The final validated poster is the current scientific reference for this page. The six supporting reports are retained unchanged and may record earlier hypotheses; where they differ, the final poster takes precedence. All seven documents are available as PDFs.
Main
SIC 2026 Poster
Final validated poster — the current scientific reference for this research dossier.
Metrology
Critical Metrological Report
Historical units, reported intervals and comparative metrological evidence.
Paris Half-Aune Annex
A focused examination of the Paris half-aune correspondence.
Iconography / Attribution
Hunting Iconography Analysis
The four faces, animal distributions and decorative structure.
Cross-Attribution Synthesis
A cross-disciplinary assessment of the attribution evidence.
Comparative Studies
ODUT1283 Comparative Study
A documentary comparison with the Petit Palais rule.
Prestige Measuring Rules & Inlaid Ells
A typological study of luxury measuring rods and inlaid ells.
Institutional Sources & Bibliography
Paris Musées Collections — Scène de chasse, ODUT1283
Petit Palais, musée des Beaux-arts de la Ville de Paris. Official object record and photographic credit. Further bibliographical references are retained in the supporting studies.
Full-resolution photographic archive
Complete rulePNG · 2400 × 555 Face 1PNG · 2400 × 563 Face 2PNG · 2400 × 534 Face 3PNG · 2400 × 519 Face 4PNG · 2400 × 534 Stamped markPNG · 660 × 686 End constructionPNG · 2400 × 2400 Annotated overviewPNG · 2048 × 473 Additional complete viewPNG · 2400 × 2400 Oblique detail 1PNG · 2400 × 2400 Oblique detail 2PNG · 2400 × 2400 Oblique detail 3PNG · 2400 × 2400 Oblique detail 4PNG · 2400 × 2400
Help us identify it
Do you know
a comparable?
We are particularly interested in comparable measuring rods, historical standards, workshop marks, related hunting decoration, or institutional records that may help identify the object.
- Which historical unit best explains the object?
- Was it a personal rule, a merchant’s measure, a quasi-standard or a transfer rod?
- Do the metal ends define the effective measuring length?
- Can the paired stamped marks be identified?
- Does any additional hunting-decorated rule survive beyond ODUT1283 and SIC?
- Can a documented workshop or region be securely linked to this object?
Independent researchers, France