Paris
Half aune ≈ 594.25 mm
Best documented fit to the current total length.
Only some interval values correspond naturally to documented Paris subdivisions.
SIC 2026 · 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 metal end caps.
- Current measured length
- c. 594 mm ±1 mm
- Decorated faces
- 4
- Reported interval values
- 5
- Large animal figures
- 8
- Unidentified stamped mark
- 1
33 mm99 mm198 mm198 mm66 mm
Reported interval values33, 66, 99, 198 and 198 mm
Numerical structure33 + 66 + 99 = 198; total ≈ 3 × 198 mm
The current length is not yet a precision metrology measurement. Numerical structure and spatial order are distinct.
What we know
- Quadrangular rod, c. 593–594 mm long.
- Four decorated faces.
- Dark wood, light engraved inlays and metal end caps.
- 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 end caps.
- Identification of the stamped mark.
The metrological puzzle
A coherent numerical structure.
An unresolved historical standard.
33 + 66 + 99 = 198 mm
[1,2,3,6,6]/18
Three equal thirds of ≈198 mm
A mathematical description, not an identified historical standard.
Milan
Braccio ≈ 594.936 mm
Most economical arithmetical reading of the five interval values.
8 / 16 / 24 / 48 / 48 punti 12 once = 144 punti
The arithmetic does not establish Milanese manufacture or use.
Neither correspondence identifies 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
The 3+1 pattern strongly supports intentional variation; its purpose remains unknown.
Each of the two large decorative fields shows a 3+1 distribution across the four faces. The substitutions occur on opposed faces.
Transverse boundaries structure the decorative fields.
Original photograph: 660 × 686 px.
Unidentified
Stamped Mark
The mark has not been securely identified. It could relate to control, maker or assembler, ownership, inventory, or later intervention. No secure regional, religious or corporative reading is currently established.
The metal end caps may also affect the effective historical measuring length.
Recognise this mark?
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, but no common workshop or provenance has been demonstrated.
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 reports are supplied unchanged and may record earlier hypotheses. The current publication position is the one presented on this page. The poster and all six supporting reports are available as PDFs.
Main
SIC 2026 Poster
The conference poster accompanying 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.
- Similar measuring rule?
- Known historical unit?
- Recognisable stamped mark?
- Workshop or regional technique?
- Museum or private-collection parallel?