This astrolabe, previously unrecorded, was made by one of the most prolific of the Persian astrolabists of Isfahan in the late 17th century, Khalil Muhammad. Approximately thirty pieces bearing his name are known. This piece is unusual on account of the distinctive form of the rete, but this is a later replacement.

The astrolabe was the favorite astronomical instrument of Muslim astronomers from the 8th to the 19th century. It was used mainly for timekeeping and for astrological purposes, and , as a two-dimensional model of the universe that one could hold in one's hands and carry in one's pocket, constitutes an excellent means of teaching the basics of spherical astronomy. To use the instrument, one simply measures the altitude of the sun by day or a star by night and sets the corresponding marker for the sun (a point on the ecliptic corresponding to the day of the year) or star-pointer on the rete on top of the appropriate altitude circle on the plate underneath that serves one's own terrestrial latitude: the instrument then displays the instantaneous configuration of the heavens with respect to one's horizon. One rotation of the rete corresponds to a rotation of the heavens once every twenty-four hours, so if one moves the rete until the sun is on the eastern horizon, the amount of rotation will be a measure of the time elapsed since or remaining until sunrise. Likewise, a glance at the configuration of the ecliptic with respect to the horizon will serve to determine the ascendant, a notion of prime importance in astrology. A large proportion of surviving Islamic astrolabes are from 17th century Isfahan, but most have never been studied and no comparative study has been made of the works of individual makers.