An elegant brass astrolabe of the Lahore school, unsigned, undated, with an owner's mark c.1750

Details

An elegant brass astrolabe of the Lahore school, unsigned, undated, with an owner's mark c.1750

The Throne is large and elegantly worked A jour, and the suspensory aparatus is intact. The scale of the rim of the mater is divided and labelled for each 5° and subdivided for each 1°, the back of the mater bears an incomplete geographical gazeteer, with the latitudes and longitudes of 47 (out of 70) locations. The rete is unusual in having a counter-changed horizontal bar, elegantly and finely worked, with twining vines, there are about 30 star pointers.

The five Plates are engraved with standard astrolabic markings, including altitude circles for each 3° and azimuth circles for each 10°, with curves for the hours since sunset and until sunrise in addition to those for the seasonal hours (except for 30°). The underlying latitudes, given with the corresponding lengths of longest day, are:
21°40 25° 27° 30°
31°50' 36°0' 38°0' 45°0'
Two other sides feature four sets of quarter-horizons, and a set of markings for coordinate conversion, likewise standard

The back engraved with two altitude scales divided and labelled for each 5° and subdivided for each 1°. These enclose a trigonometric quadrant with horizontal parallels for each unit(sixtieth divisions of the radius) and a solar quadrant with curves for the solar altitudes at midday and at the begining and end of the mid-afternoon ('asr) prayer for latitude 32° [Lahore]. Below the horizontal diameter there are scales on the rim for shadows to base 12 (l.h.s) and 7(r.h.s), and a double shadow square with scales serving the same bases. The alidade bears a sexagesimal (base 60) scale and a solar lonitude scale marked for the signs 9 for use with the solar quadrant). The wedge, possibly a replacement, is shaped like a horse's head - diameter 160mm. thickness 9.5mm.

Provenance

Formerly in the S.V.Hoffman Collection (no.5)At some time loaned to the National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C. Previously auctioned in these rooms on 9.4.1975 (lot 104 and 29.3.90 (lot166)

Literature

R.T.Gunter, Astrolabes of the World, 2 Vols. Oxford 1932,repr in 1 Vol.,London 1976 p.217 (no.88)
Christie's 9.April 1974 Lot 104
S.Gibbs and G.Saliba, Planispheric Astrolabes in the National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C., 1984 pp.134-137 (no88)
Christies Scientific Instruments p.31 lot 166

Lot Essay

The edge bears an inscription in Perian script (the rest of the inscriptions are in Arabic naskhi) that is difficult to understand and has hitherto not even been read correctly. It reads:

sahibuhu("its owner (is)") Maghfur al-Husayni al-Jilani

This could be taken to indicate that the name of the owner was Maghfur al-Husayni al-Jilani; however, it is unlikely that Maghfur is a personal name. The Arabic word maghfur, usually in the phrase al-maghfur lahu, means "the deceased", literally, "the one to whom (sin) has been forgiven". The epithet al-Husayni indicates that he was a Shi'ite, al-Jilani that his family came from Gilan in N.W.Iran. If the inscription means "its owner was the deceased al-Husayni al-Jilani", then this is remarkable not least because "al-Husayni al-Jilani" is not a complete name

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