Voiron Sundial

This dial had a hectic history. Originally painted by Zuarbula and repainted in 1954, we see only the original dial, the exotic bird. This dial also has an originality: its motto in French and in three.
Dating from 1815, it is engraved on a green marble plate and embedded above the entrance door of a house facing south.
He is the exception that confirms the rule: most of the sundials from Briançonnais are frescoed because the colors are easy to carry, and stone is an expensive material and difficult to work with, hence the small size of this dial! Its creator is unknown.

It is a dial called "reported"; not directly engraved on the facade, the reported dials are rather rare in the Hautes-Alpes, there are more painted dials, this is directly related to the tradition of mural painting, which constitutes a form of economic decor. We will find more dials engraved in the north of France and in the south on limestone.

Its motto states: 'From the sun to the shadow,' The words of the maxim are not all of the same size, larger at the top. It is decorated with simple geometric shapes (straight lines, right angles), neat patterns: this decoration recalls the Empire style of the time of Napoleon the First. 1815, the year of creation of the dial, is precisely the date of the extreme end of the reign of the Emperor.

The embedded stone on the left bears the inscription 'W J LV 1809': it is a very widespread custom in the Briançonnais, most houses often have above their door an embedded plate in which letters and a date are engraved; the W is actually 2 entwined V, abbreviation of the Italian word vive abbreviation of evviva, a very popular symbol at the time of the Revolution; The letters "JLV" are the initials of the owner J.L. Voiron, and the date is that of the construction of the house. This custom is believed to come from Italy.

The stone bench to the left of the front door also bears an inscription: Jean Voiron, 1828.