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PROVENANCE - Sothebys Auction, LONDON - ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD, INCLUDING FINE CARPETS AND TEXTILES 24 OCTOBER 2007 - Lot#191

This little astrolabe has been made with spectacular skill. It was surely made by one of the colleagues of 'Abd al-A'imma, but their different productions have not yet been properly documented, so that it is not possible to suggest a more precise attribution.

The throne is decorated on both sides but the cartouche on the front is empty. The rete is typical of the smaller astrolabes of the school and bears 24 star-pointers. The mater and plates, which are a mere 5 cm in diameter, bear altitude circles for each 6° and azimuth circles for each 10°. There are markings for latitudes 27° (mater), 28°, 29°, 30°, 32°, 34°, 36° and 37°, and there is also a plate of horizons. The inscriptions on the plate for 32° are more elaborate than on the others, and it is this plate that serves Isfahan. The back bears two altitude scales on the top and two shadow scales on the bottom, but is otherwise devoid of markings. The clumsy alidade is not original. Miniature astrolabes are attested from the 10th century onwards, but they inevitably had a high rate of attrition.

Bibliography: Mayer, Islamic Astrolabists, sub 'Abd al-A'imma, Muhammad Amîn, Muhammad Tâhir, etc.