Museum Mondays

As we explore the world of the plumb bob we're not surprised to find them in the collection of museums across the country and across the globe. From ancient artifacts to contemporary art the plumb bob has served as a practical tool and an object of inspiration. It has been used as a divining rod, as a symbol for the Free Masons, and as an aid for artists and sculptors. George Washington used one during his time as a surveyor. 

Starting tomorrow on Facebook we will feature a plumb bob in the collection of a museum or art gallery every Monday. If you see an item you think we should feature, pass it along. 

For those reading the blog, we provide you with a preview of our first Museum Monday entry: an ancient Egyptian plumb bob in the collection the Fitzwilliam Museum, the museum of the University of Cambridge, in Cambridge, England. It is described in their online collection database as a "Basalt Ceremonial Plumb Bob" from ancient times. Learn more about it on the museum's website.

Collection of The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, UK

Title: Basalt ceremonial plumb-bob

Category:measuring/weighing equipment

Name: plumb-bob

Date: circa 332 B.C. — circa 30 B.C.

Period: Ptolemaic period

Description: plummet

Production
Place (legacy): Egypt, production, country

Find Spot: Egypt

Technique: carved

Material: basalt

Dimension: height, 15.5, cm

Acquisition: bequeathed; 1949; Gayer-Anderson, R. G. (Major)

Alternative Number(s): GayerAnderson; IX.60

Accession: Object Number: E.GA.287.1949
(Antiquities) (record id: 61985; input: 2003-03-25; modified: 2015-04-02)

Permanent Identifier: http://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/61985

Why is it Called a Plumb Bob?

Some of you may ask, from where does the word plumb derive? Well, as I was reminded by my cousin over the past weekend, Pb (an abbreviation of the Latin, plumbum) is the symbol for lead. As lead weights were used from an early date to establish a vertical, the tool used to do so were eventually known in English as plumb bobs, plumb lines, or plummets. (Plumbing also derives from this element in connection with lead pipes).

While contemporary times provide us with a multitude of ways to establish a vertical, the plumb bob remains a tried and true reliable tool. Our miniature brass plumb bobs, available on Etsy, provide you with a true vertical without the need to carry around a bob of lead!

Really Tiny Pencil Shaped Brass Plumb Bob

The tiniest Plumb Bob made to date, just 1/2" in length.
Available on Etsy.

Youtube Sampler

Our latest video with a sampler of Plumb Bobs hand crafted by artisan David Hale' for Quality in Vermont.
Quality work from the Green Mountain State.