Publication Date
624 AH 1226-27 AD
Publication Place
-
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Subject
Gold plated copper alloy
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
الأبعاد الكلية : 21.3 × 13.97 ×2.9 سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
M.2003.116a-k
Record ID
object;EPM;us;Mus21;15;ar
Library Location
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Date
624 AH 1226-27 AD
Notes
The astrolabe is an astronomical measuring device that Muslims inherited from the Hellenistic world and then moved to Europe in the Middle Ages. According to its engravings, this beautiful, gold-plated brass astrolabe was made in Seville in southern Spain. Like all instruments, it was designed to measure the height of the stars, the sun or the moon, and to find various astronomical and topographical relationships without resorting to calculations or equations. It was particularly valuable for calculating time, since Muslim prayer times were determined astronomically. In addition to performing a function, the astrolabe was intended to be beautiful. This example is unusual in that it appears to have been almost completely altered. 70 years after it was made, perhaps in Egypt or Syria, Seville at that time fell under Christian control, which it regained from the Muslims.
Sample Text
"Astrolabe" within Discover Islamic Art Collections. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;us;Mus21;15;ar
