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Astrolabe (front)

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made in Persia

Astrolabe (front)
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An astrolabe is an instrument used by early astronomers to measure the altitude of stars and planets and also as a navigational aid. This brass example was made in the early 18th century in Persia by Abdullah al-A'Immah. The 'horse' holding the instrument together in the centre is a modern replacement.

The front of the astrolabe (pictured here) shows the rete (or star map). The star pointers are leaves. Although no two are identical, the astrolabes made by Abdullah al-A'Immah show the same flowing pattern outside the ecliptic (the smaller, off-centre circle), as well as one of two general patterns within the ecliptic, depending on the size of the instrument. In his smaller astrolabes, as here, there is a straight bar through the pole to the ecliptic.

Over 30 instruments made by Abdullah al-A'Immah have survived. However, no details of his life are known; but from surviving instruments made or decorated for named patrons it is concluded that al-A'Immah was a leading member of a school of astrolabists probably centred in Isfahan, and active from around 1678 until the downfall of the Safavid dynasty in 1722.

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