Publication Date
Between 1648 - 58 AD
Publication Place
-
Al-Khalili Family Trust - Nasser D. Collection. Al-Khalili Islamic Art
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
الارتفاع : 60.2 سم ، القطر : 52.6 سم ، السماكة : 1.4 سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
SCI 53
Record ID
object;EPM;uk;Mus21;38;ar
Library Location
Al-Khalili Family Trust - Nasser D. Collection. Al-Khalili Islamic Art
Date
Between 1648 - 58 AD
Notes
The astrolabe was the main Islamic scientific device for determining time, measuring and determining height. It consists of a solid body, the mother, in which are mounted a series of plates (six in this astrolabe) and a rotating, circular star map resembling a net, which is the net and is known as the spider in Arabic. The various elements, to which a shot indicator is added (the jamb), are fastened together on the back of the device using a screw. In a recent, detailed study, Professor S. R. Sarma S.R. Sarma states that this astrolabe was definitely the work of Ziauddin Muhammad, a member of the group of famous stroboscope makers in Lahore. Many details led him to the conclusion that the astrolabe was made for the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan between approximately 1648 when he moved his capital to Delhi and renamed it Shahjahanabad - the name used for this astrolabe - and the end of his reign in 1658. The Sanskrit terms were added to Arabic in 1701 and in the process the name of the maker must have been added in Arabic inscription, the date and the owner of the astrolabe.
Sample Text
“An antique flat spherical astrolabe made for Shah Jahan, most likely by Zia al-Din Muhammad Lahori” in Explore Islamic Art Collections. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;uk;Mus21;38;ar
