Hourglass

Hourglasses, also known as sandglasses were a type of tool used for tracking the passage of time. They typically tracked the passage of one or more hours, hence their name, though some known as minuteglasses were designed to track specific minute timeframes.

Description
An hourglass consisted of two bulbous, glass globes connected by a narrow passage. These globes were held together by a frame, typically made of wood, that itself was held together by twine and screws. The glass globes were filled with sand that traveled from the topmost bulb to the lower one, passing through the narrow passage that connected them.

Variants

 * Scornubrian sandglass: A type of minuteglass that was produced in the city of Scornubel.

History
Throughout the 14 century DR, Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue offered one and two hour sandglasses, as well as minuteglasses that counted intervals of ten minutes, five minutes, one minute, and a half-minute. All of these timepieces within the catalogue were both casted and given an ornate paintjob in the land of Calimshan, then filled with precise measurements of sand in Waterdeep.

Classes

 * Mages sometimes had hourglasses among their belongings.
 * A proper wizard's laboratory in the Realms typically contained sandglasses that counted intervals of a half-minute, minute, five minute, and hour. They were considered to be crucial for tracking the success of chemical research.

Magic

 * An hourglass constructed of gold and silver was used to house aquamarines of spell extending.

Religions

 * The ancient deity Chronos was typically depicted alongside an hourglass.

Trivia

 * The Temple Beyond Time was in the shape of an elongated hourglass.
 * Within the center of Winterspace was a cluster of stars that many observers described as resembling an hourglass.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * The Ring of Winter
 * Video Games
 * Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn''
 * Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn''