Author
Ahmed bin Ali Al-Sharafi.
Author Original
أحمد بن علي الشرفي
Publication Date
729/ 1329
Publication Place
-
National Maritime Museum
Subject
Engraved brass.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
القطر: 12.2سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
S 1565
Record ID
object;ISL;se;Mus01_A;33;ar
Library Location
National Maritime Museum
Date
729/ 1329
Notes
The astrolabe is an astronomical instrument consisting of several parts, the main of which is the circular body called the mother plate. It consists of an outer edge tied to a plate. The outer edge is divided into 360 scales numbered clockwise, separated by a distance of 5 degrees. Every fifty degrees are marked with a dotted line. It is connected to the top of the body with a handle, but the ring to which it was attached is missing. It was used to pass a rope through because the astrolabe was used while suspended. Connected to the motherboard are seven thin plates in addition to the grid, which is a skeleton-like plate that indicates the stars, and a pin that passes through a hole in the center holds multiple parts together. The astrolabe is based on the concept of stereoscopic projection. The circles on the plates represent the spherical surface of the Earth at a certain geographical height, and the circles of the grid correspond to the known stars. Since the network was the moving part, and was originally managed by four nodes that have now been lost, it becomes possible to represent the Earth and the celestial dome to each other, and the stars are represented by star pointers, numbering 29, and having perforated bulbous bases, and the names of the stars are engraved in cursive script below the pointer. The importance of Western Arabic astrolabes stems from the decoration of the star indicators, in addition to the other important part of the grid, which is the zodiac circle on which the names of the Arabic signs are inscribed in Kufic script. On the back of the astrolabe appear several circles representing the constellations or the months of the Julian calendar with their Arabic names and two shaded squares, and above the east-west line is engraved the name of Ahmed bin Ali Al-Sharafi, the craftsman who made the astrolabe, in addition to the date and place of manufacture.
Sample Text
Friederike Voigt (on the basis of information about the object given by Susanna Allesson Nyberg). "Astrolabe" within Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;se;Mus01_A;33;ar
