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Lot Essay
Qibla compasses with painted dials were made in the later Ottoman period. These were made either with all the details on the rotating dial as the present example and one in the Khalili Collection (Rogers, J.M.: Art of the Sultans, Ottoman Art from the Collection of Nasser D. Khalili, London, 1995, no.63), or with the compass set into a wooden panel with the directions marked on the wood (Kalter, Johannes: Linden-Museum, Stuttgart, Abteilungsführer Islamischer Orient, Stuttgart, 1987, fig.24, p.26). They were also sometimes combined with othe scientific instruments (Rogers, op.cit, nos.64 and 65, pp.111-113).
The inscriptions in the expanding panel below the figure of the ka'ba contain the names of the relevant cities. A list of these is available on request. The cartouches around the ka'ba contain the cardinal points together with the names of four winds using their nautical names. The Khalili compass has the same feature which led the cataloguer to suggest that these particular instruments were possibly intended for use at sea. The present example is a particularly finely worked one which one would have thought would not be appropriate to take to sea.
The inscriptions in the expanding panel below the figure of the ka'ba contain the names of the relevant cities. A list of these is available on request. The cartouches around the ka'ba contain the cardinal points together with the names of four winds using their nautical names. The Khalili compass has the same feature which led the cataloguer to suggest that these particular instruments were possibly intended for use at sea. The present example is a particularly finely worked one which one would have thought would not be appropriate to take to sea.