possibly made in Lahore, 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 was made in India in the 17th century, possibly by Diya ad-din, an instrument maker based in Lahore.
The back of the astrolabe includes a sine and cosine quadrant and a graph of the meridian altitude of the sun throughout the year for latitudes 18 and 20 degrees.
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.
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- Online ID: 000-190-001-043-C
- Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
- Project:
National Museums Scotland
Project description View all records in project
- Ref: National Museums Scotland T.1962.13
- Date: 17th century
- Material: Brass
Astrolabe
- Dimensions: 117.00 mm D
- What: Astrolabe
- Subject: 3. ASTRONOMY, Astrolabes (Departmental Classification)
- Who: Diya ad-din (Maker)
Sir John Findlay Collection
- Where: INDO-PERSIA
Pakistan, Punjab, Lahore
- Event:
- Description: Brass astrolabe, with five plates with projections for latitudes, a plate of horizons, and a tablet of ecliptical coordinates, probably by Diya ad-din, Lahore, 17th century
- References:
- Computer Checklist of Astrolabes No 89
- Gunther, R.T., The Astrolabes of the World. London: 1932. pp 217-8, no 89
- The Sir John Findlay Collection; an important collection of scientific instruments (2 parts) / Sotheby & Co., London, 1961-1962
- Translations:
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