A QIBLA INDICATOR AND SUNDIAL
拍品 230

A QIBLA INDICATOR AND SUNDIAL

SIGNED MUHAMMAD HUSAYN AL-MUNAJJIM, ZAND IRAN, DATED AH 1192/1778-79 AD

已结束2018年4月26日

成交价

GBP 10,000

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A QIBLA INDICATOR AND SUNDIAL
SIGNED MUHAMMAD HUSAYN AL-MUNAJJIM, ZAND IRAN, DATED AH 1192/1778-79 AD
Rectangular lacquered wooden body, with inset brass compass-box, painted hour lines, place names, cardinal directions, meridian line, signed and dated, minor chips to the edges
7 1/8 x 9in. (18.2 x 23cm.)

专家说明

This instrument allowed users to find the qibla (the direction of Mecca) from wherever they were. The first step was to locate north-south by placing the instrument on a flat surface and allowing the needle to find magnetic north. The board was then rotated. The inscriptions on the wood would act as a form of map. Depending on where the user was located, they could direct themselves towards Mecca and locate the direction of the qibla.

Surviving examples of such instruments in lacquered wood are rare. For a similar example see Venetia Porter and Mariam Rosser-Owen, Metalwork and Material Culture in the Islamic World, London, 2012, fig.74, p.110. For other comparables in brass see Sotheby’s, London, 22 April 2015, lot 201 and Sotheby’s, London, 20 April 2016, lot 90.