Record

Astrolabe rete, owned by Robert Gordon of Straloch, Aberdeenshire

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made in France

Postcard of Astrolabe rete, owned by Robert Gordon of Straloch, Aberdeenshire.
000-190-000-945-C
© National Museums Scotland

Astrolabe rete, owned by Robert Gordon of Straloch, Aberdeenshire

A rete is the skeletal plate that fits into an astrolabe on top of the selected latitude plate, and is freely rotatable over it. This example is from an early-15th-century brass astrolabe owned by Robert Gordon (1580-1661) of Straloch in Aberdeenshire.

Both plate and rete have the north celestial pole in the centre and the edge is bounded by the Tropic of Capricorn. The pointers mark the brightest 'fixed' stars.

Robert Gordon made a major contribution to Scottish cartography by extensively revising the manuscript surveys of Timothy Pont (c.1565-c.1614) for publication by the Blaeus in Amsterdam.


Record details

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Online ID: 000-190-000-945-C
Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
Project: 0098: National Museums Scotland
Project description | View all records in project
Ref: National Museums Scotland  T.1947.27
Date: c. 1460
Early 15th century
Material: Inscription: Robertius Gordonius [on rim]
Dimensions:
What: Astrolabe
Subject: 3. ASTRONOMY, Astrolabes (Departmental Classification)
Who: Gordon of Straloch (Owner)
Where:
Event:
Description: Gordon of Straloch's astrolabe, probably dating from 1460, with Robertius Gordonius on rim
References:
  • For Gordon's map-mapping contribution, see Royal Scottish Geographical Society, The Early Maps of Scotland to 1850. Edinburgh: 1973 pp 44-53, 138 
  • Macdonald, A. & Morrison-Low, A.D., A Heavenly Library: Treasures from the Royal Observatory's Crawford Collection. Edinburgh: Royal Observatory & NMS, 1994, p 25 
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