At a sundial festival which was held on Thursday July 15 at Malek Museum with the cooperation and attendance of astronomy experts and enthusiasts, a number of sundials were put on display along with a variety of astronomy tools and instruments such as the astrolabe from the Malek Museum treasures. In addition, the old sundial from the Mashgh Square, made by Abd al-Razzagh Baghayeri, was unveiled.
According to the public relations of Malek National Museum and Library, informative details on astronomy tools and instruments were offered to participants in workshops held before the festival, where Ms. Pir Mohammad of the Ma'refat Observatory delivered explanations about Theodolite, an observation tool. Also, Mohammad Hassan Ghasemi described the well known kinds of sundials including horizontal, equatorial, analemmatic and vertical direct dials (direct East- and West-facing dials), as well as their calculation formulas. Fatemeh Azimloo then explained the scientific basics of sundials in astronomy and spheroid celestial objects.
A pen case workshop was also held as a sideline event. The workshop kicked off on Tuesday July 13 and will wrap up on Sunday July 18. At the beginning of the festival the workshop supervisor Ramin Merati offered an introduction to the workshop, saying: "A pen case is a completely practical thing, but in periods of the history of Iranian art it has been presented entirely as an art work. This workshop has been organized aiming to give people a better understanding of the pen case making process, the cardboard cast and the outer surface painting. At the end of the workshop, three pen cases will be made with flowers, miniature and monochromic flower and bird designs." He further pointed out: "This workshop was organized to make people relate to one of our traditional, precious arts, which has been forgotten and neglected. I hope old works of art will be regarded with a deeper appreciation so that we can witness the revival and a more pronounced presence of the traditional arts among people."
Next was Dr. Mohammad Reza Noroozi, who gave an account of the world's famous sundials, saying: "Apparently sundials were used throughout the history to show time, but today it's unlikely for anyone to use a sundial for a watch."
Using a set of slides, he then introduced different kinds of sundials and explained how each one works. On horizontal sundials he said: "The indicative style (Gnomon) is the most important thing in these sundials. These sundials can be seen in a great variety, as their appearance can easily be changed. They can have unusual uses. They can be huge, like the one on top of a bridge in Florida, which was made by a Spanish sculptor, or they can be very small and set up in courtyards. In general, any kind of space can be used to build a sundial."
Noroozi went on to explain about the cylindrical sundials: "These sundials are based on a very simple theory and are extremely flexible. For example, there is one model that consists of a glass sphere and metal styles. As the styles warm up, even a blind person can tell the time."
Of the vertical sundials he said: "These sundials can be mounted on almost any kind of wall. There are models that are mounted on the back of windows and can be seen from inside the building."
Noroozi concluded his words by references to several creative examples of sundials, such as the one used as a promotional billboard for McDonald's, or the one mounted on the wall of a great dam in France, the digital sundial and the sundial in an island in France, which is the largest sundial of the world.
Next speaker was Pooria Nazemi, who explained the importance of building sundials, saying: "It's true that there is no need for sundials to tell the time today, but the key role of these clocks is that they formed a meeting point for sciences like arithmetic, astronomy, trigonometry, architecture and even literature. In a word, sundials offer teachings both in sciences and artistic observation."
He then added: "The promotional effect of these sundials is not limited to arithmetic and astronomy; they offer an example for developing an idea and turning it into a practical tool."
Next on the program, a video clip was shown of the stages of building a sundial which is to be mounted on the wall of Rasht Municipality, by Dr. Mohammad Bagheri and two members of Nojoom Sagheb Society of Gilan. Then, Mohammad Bagheri, astronomy researcher who has donated the Baghayeri sundial to Malek Museum, said: "Brigadier Baghayeri was one of the pioneer cartographers in Iran who drew the maps of Tehran and Tabriz and built a number of sundials. One of these sundials is in Bidokht (Gonabad), one in the pool of the Shah-Abdol-Azim Mosque in Ray, and the other in Tehran's Shah Mosque."
He then gave an account of the process in which the Baghayeri sundial gained significance and was eventually found. According to Bagheri, the Baghayeri sundial is a stone sundial which was given to him by Yunes Eslahian as a gift.
Next, Managing Director of Malek Museum and Library Seyyed Mohammad Mojtaba Hosseini appreciated the efforts of Dr. Bagheri and Mohammad Asgari for the meticulous mounting of the old sundial in the area of the museum and library, and presented gifts to Bagheri, Noroozi and Nazemi. The ceremony ended with a video clip about the Baghayeri sundial, visits to the museum's sundials and refreshments.
Also on exhibit at the ceremony was a model sundial designed by Mohammad Asgari and Nima Majdara, which is expected to be built in east of Tehran on the commission of the Tehran Beautification Organization of Tehran Municipality. Asgari said on this sundial: "This model is one fiftieth the size of the final sundial. The actual dimensions of the sundial will be 13x40m, and if successfully built, it will be the largest polar dial of the world. It is named after Abd al-Rahman Soofi, one of the giants of astronomy in the world, as a tradition to keep the memory of such great figures alive. The distinctive feature of this sundial is the concave piece of steel which will flash the true noon."
There were forty sundials on display in the outside area of Malek National Museum and Library, including the old sundial of the Mashgh Square and three others made by Mohammad Asgari. According to the supervisor of this section of the festival Mohammad Reza Shafizadeh, these sundials indicate the true time, and as the official clock time of the country is shifted once every six months, the time according to these sundials is one hour earlier than the official clock time of the country.
Shafizadeh said: "These sundials are set up according to the geographical position of the Tehran (45° latitude). Mounting sundials is a very precise process; they should be set up according to certain equilibrium for accurate results. As such, these sundials will indicate the local solar time based on the place they are installed, which will be different from our standard time which follows Greenwich meantime."
Also installed in the exhibition area was a telescope to observe the sun, giving the visitors a chance to observe the sun's activities and spots. In addition, a variety of cultural products were presented to the visitors at the hall were the ceremony took place, including celestial maps, telescopes, scientific CDs, astronomy books and posters from Gitashenasi (Geography) Center.
The sundial festival and unveiling ceremony of Mashgh Square's sundial was held at Malek National Museum and Library on Thursday July 15, concurrent with the auspicious birth anniversary of Imam Hossein (AS). The lacquer pen case making workshop will be running to Sunday July 18, 10am to 4pm everyday.