This object was designed to tell time. The compass aspect of this item is used to determine north. Once north is determined, the shadow produced by the fine string attached to the narrow metal stem in the upright position indicates the time. This object was made by Roch Blondeau in 1671 in Paris, France. It was brought to the Detroit region by Pierre Descomptes dit Labadie, one of the first to receive a land concession on the Windsor side of the river in 1749. In a 1905 address to the Essex Historical Society it is mentioned that the sundial compass was in the possession of Daniel Labadie.