possibly made in North India
Add to albumAn 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, made in North India in 1643, is one of the earliest known Indian astrolabes in a public collection.
The front of the astrolabe is inscribed in Sanskrit by the suspension bracket: 'Caused to be made by Manirama on the 11th day of the dark half of the month Caitra [March-April] samvat 1900 [=1643 AD]'.
Astrolabe construction in the Middle East has a longer and more continuous history than in Europe. The earliest instruments which survive are from the 9th century and were made by Syro-Egyptian astrolabists working in Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo.
Record details
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- Online ID: 000-100-102-830-C
- Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
- Project:
National Museums Scotland
Project description View all records in project
- Ref: National Museums Scotland T.1986.20
- Date: 1643
- Material: Brass. Inscription: Caused to be made by Manirama on the eleventh day of the dark half of the month Caita samrat 1900 [in Sanskrit]
Astrolabe
- Dimensions:
- What: Astrolabe
- Subject: 3. ASTRONOMY, Astrolabes (Departmental Classification)
- Who: Manirama, Lahore (Maker)
- Where: Pakistan, Punjab, Lahore
- Event:
- Description: Astrolabe of brass, made by Manirama of Lahore, 1643
- References:
- For astrolabes generally, and then in use, see North, J.R., 'The Astrolabe', Scientific American 230 (1974), pp 96-106; and [Waters, D. W.] The Plainspheric Astrolabe. London: 1976
- Translations:
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