- 338
A Maghribi astrolabe with simplified rete, dated 1207 AH/1792-3 AD
Estimate
40,000 - 50,000 GBP
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Description
- Bronze
11cm. diam; 17.5cm total height; 0.6cm thickness
This an unusual kind of astrolabe, bearing a rete or star-map with a limited number of stars, a feature attested on two other known astrolabes, both of Maghribi provenance. Otherwise the instrument is typical of the astrolabes made in the Maghrib in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The Maghrib was the scene of serious activity in mathematical astronomy and astrology from the tenth to the fifteenth century, and an interest in traditional astronomy continued there until the early twentieth century. In particular, the construction of instruments – astrolabes, quadrants and sundials – continued into the late nineteenth century.
This unsigned Maghribi astrolabe, previously unrecorded, is, on the one hand, typical of the standard astrolabes that were made in the Maghrib during the period up to the nineteenth century. On the other hand, the rete or star-map is simplified to display a bare minimum of stars, a feature attested only on two other known Maghribi astrolabes, both with the mater engraved as a single plate, for which we use the appellation "astrolabic plate". We shall return to these other instruments below.
The astronomical engraving is accurate and the calligraphy in Maghribi kûfî is competent.The numbers on the scales and plates are marked in alphanumerical (abjad) notation according to the Maghribi convention. The throne is raised and without decoration. The shackle and the suspensory apparatus are original.
The date of construction is written in a bold European-style hand on the front of the throne, but in fact it is in acceptable Maghribi forms of the Hindu-Arabic numerals. It follows the Arabic word 'âm, "year". This date may not have been engraved by the maker of the astrolabe, but, if it was not, it is conceivable that it was engraved by a Maghribi colleague. Had the date been engraved by a European (that is, probably a Frenchman), the numbers '1' and '7' would not have been engraved as they are. It is tempting to imagine a visiting Englishman engraving these numerals – the forms are rather English! Certainly, if the date resulted from an attempt to deceive, then a much earlier date would surely have been chosen. In any case, our astrolabist engraved the word "year" in anticipation that someone would then engrave the year-number. The Hijra date 1207 corresponds to 1792/93, and a date of c.1800 would have been suggested for the astrolabe even if it had not been dated.The outer rim of the mater bears a 360° scale divided into 5°-intervals, subdivided into single degrees. The 5°-arguments are labelled thrice up to 100°, then up to 60°. The surface of the mater is carefully engraved with an extravagant foliate design.
The rete is typically Maghribi in style, with counter-changes along the horizontal bar and star-pointers of different, but all standard, design. The horizontal bar is curved between the ecliptic and the central ring. The ecliptic scale is labelled with the names of the zodiacal signs and is divided into 6°-intervals. The following nine stars are represented in each quadrant Q of the ecliptic beginning with the vernal equinox (on the left) and reckoning counter-clockwise. Each pointer bears standard star-names, mainly in abbreviated form:
Q1: dabarân (Aldebaran = a Tauri)
Q2: 'abûr (Sirius = a Canis maioris);
ghumaysâ' (Gomeisa = a Canis minoris)
Q3: râmih (Arcturus = a Boötis)
qalb al-'aqrab (Antares = a Scorpionis)
hawwâ' (Rasalhague = a Ophiuchi)
Q4: wâqi' (Vega = a Lyrae)
tâ'ir (Altair = a Aquilae)
dhanab qaytûs (Deneb Kaitos = i Ceti)
Usually Maghribi astrolabes serve 20-30 stars, but most of the star-pointers are superfluous for practical purposes, since a bare minimum – one or two per quadrant – will suffice. The choice of these particular astrolabe stars may not be optimal; ideally they should be spaced at more regular intervals, and here the first and second quadrants are not optimally served. However, as we shall see below, one tiny medieval European astrolabe, closely modelled on an Islamic prototype, has only four star-pointers on its rete, serving the bright stars Aldebaran, Regulus, Rasalhague and Altair.
There was originally a knob at each end of each major axis of the rete. Possibly these were of silver, as was not uncommon on Maghribi astrolabes. In addition, there are small insets on each of the star-pointers. Again, silver buttons may once have been found in these. The mater is engraved only with horizontal and vertical diameters.
There are two original plates with astrolabic markings for the following latitudes and no associated localities are stated (here provided in square brackets):
1a 21°40' [Mecca]
1b 25° [Medina]
2a 34° [Meknes]
2b 34°10' [??]
Each side is engraved with altitude circles for each 6°, except for 2a, which is engraved for each 5°, in addition to the standard curves for the seasonal hours below the horizon. All sides are engraved with azimuth circles for each 15°. The meridian and prime vertical are accentuated with fishbone markings. There are no special markings for the prayer-times, such as are standard on Maghribi astrolabes. Both plates have a protrusion at the top for fixing in the mater. The first three latitudes are standard medieval values, and it was usual to have a plate serving the holy cities of Islam. Meknes was, or rather, had been a siginificant centre of astronomy. The fourth latitude, 34°10', cannot be associated with any locality in the Maghrib, either from medieval geographical lists in manuscripts (Kennedy, Geographical Coordinates, p. 684) or from any known medieval astrolabes.The third plate is not original – the engraving is in a different Maghribi hand – and it is slightly more elegantly engraved than the two original ones. The protruding peg at the top is damaged; it is folded over, perhaps to make the plate fit in the mater. The latitudes and associated localities are marked as follows:
3a 30°, Cairo
3b 38°, Algiers
On each side there are altitude circles for each 6° and azimuth circles for each 10°, as well as curves for the seasonal hours below the horizon. There are fishbone markings for the meridian, labelled zawâl, and dotted markings for the altitudes 18° and 60° above the horizon, the former for finding the duration of twilight, and for the azimuth 60° from the meridian. There are no curves for the prayers. On the one hand, the plate presents a more sophisticated aspect than the other two. On the other hand, however, the latitude of Algiers is much too high, the accurate value being around 35°30'. Very few Maghribi astrolabes have markings for Algiers (see King, "Spanish Astrolabe", p. 38). The three plates fit within the mater, and there may be room for yet another. We can assume that at least one. if not two, of the original plates are missing. This, or these, would have served latitudes for Maghribi cities.
The back bears the usual scales found on late Maghribi astrolabes, and on most early ones too. On the upper outer rim, there are two altitude scales marked for each 5° and subdivided for each 1°. Within these, there is a solar scale with each 30° marked with the names of the zodiac and subdivided for each 5° and 1°. Then within this there is a calendar scale with the months labelled in the Western Islamic (= European) convention, as follows (showing only consonants and long vowels):
ynâyr – fbrâ'r – mârs – 'brîl – mâyh – yûnyh
yûlyh – gh-sh-t – sh-tnbr – 'ktbr – nûnbr – djnbr.
The divisions are marked for the number of days in each month. subdivided for each 5 days and 1 day. The equinox corresponds to March 8, by which one could date the piece roughly to c.1700 (this dating is not precise), but this should not be taken too seriously. (In late Islamic instrumentation, blind tradition prevailed with regard to calendar scales on instruments.) Below the horizontal diameter, there is a double shadow-square, with each scale marked in digits (base 12), labelled for each 2 digits and subdivided for each 1 digit. The horizontal scale is labelled al-zill al-mabsût and the vertical ones al-zill al-mankûs, indicating that they display the cotangents and tangents, respectively, of the solar altitude.
The alidade is unmarked and, along with the pin and wedge, is original. The wedge is fashioned as the front of a horse, as was standard.
As mentioned above, there are two Islamic astrolabic plates with simplified retes like the one under discussion here. There is considerable confusion about the first of these two pieces, which has been awarded erroneously four different numbers in the International Astrolabe Checklist; part of this confusion was caused by the instrument changing locations. The two instruments are:
(1) #0152 = #4191 = #5027 = #4303: astrolabic plate for latitude 34° (Meknes) with simplified rete showing 16 stars, instrument in the tradition of al-Khamâ'irî (Seville, c.1200), datable c.1600 — first in the India Office, London, now in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. See Morley, "Astrolabe", pp. 34-36, and fig. 24 on pl. XX; Gunther, Astrolabes, pp. 299-300 (no. 152); King, "Astronomy in the Maghrib", p. 204; and idem, Synchrony, pp. 36-37 and fig. 4.1.5 on p. 37, and p. 1011, under 1.6.15s*.
(2) #4137: astrolabic plate for latitude 34° (Meknes) with simplified rete displaying 7 stars, datable ca. 1700 – formerly in a European private collection; now in the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar; unpublished.
Only one medieval European astrolabe has a simplified rete, albeit of a much more sophisticated type:(3) #0169: a universal Italian astrolabic plate from about c.1300 with only 4 stars on the rete, inspired by an Islamic prototype – Oxford, Museum of the History of Science, inv. no. 40829. First mentioned in Gunther, Astrolabes, II, 319-320 (no. 169); published in detail in King, Synchrony, II, pp. 545-574. This inistrument is a mere 5.9 cm in diameter.
We are grateful to Professor David King for his assistance in preparing the catalogue entry for this lot.
Bibliographical notes:
For a survey of Maghribi astronomy and a list of Maghribi astronomical instruments see King, "Astronomy in the Maghrib". For an ordered list of late Maghribî astrolabes see King, In Synchrony with the Heavens, vol. II, pp. 1010-12 and 1014-15. On Islamic instrumentation see King, Synchrony, vol. II, passim, and on astrolabes as historical sources see ibid., pp. 33-68 and 339-402.
Bibliography:
Alain Brieux and Francis Maddison, Répertoire des facteurs d'astrolabes et de leurs oeuvres, Paris: CNRS, in press. [Signed instruments only.]
Robert T. Gunther, Astrolabes of the World, 2 vols., Oxford, 1932, repr. in 1 vol., London: The Holland Press, 1976.
Georges Ifrah, From One to Zero: A Universal History of Numbers, New York, etc.: Penguin Books, 1985 (translated from the 1981 French edition).
E. S. Kennedy and M.-H. Kennedy, Geographical Coordinates of Localities from Islamic Sources, Frankfurt: Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Sciences, 1987.
David A. King, "An Astrolabe from 14th-century Christian Spain with Inscriptions in Latin, Hebrew and Arabic", Suhayl — Journal for the History of the Exact and Natural Sciences in Islamic Civilisation (Barcelona), 3 (2002/03), pp. 9-156, also reprinted in In Synchrony with the Heavens, XV. [This article is available on the Internet: search under Suhayl.]
David A. King, "On the History of Astronomy in the Medieval Maghrib", in Études d'histoire des sciences arabes, Mohammed Abattouy, ed., Casablanca: 2007, pp. 175-218, to be reprinted in idem, Islamic Astronomy and Geography, Aldershot: Variorum, 2012.
David A. King, In Synchrony with the Heavens – Studies in Astronomical Timekeeping and Instrumentation in Medieval Islamic Civilization, 2 vols., Leiden: Brill, 2004-05.
L. A. Mayer, Islamic Astrolabists and their Works, Geneva: Albert Kundig, 1956.
William H. Morley, Description of a Planispheric Astrolabe Constructed for Sháh Sultán Husain Safawí ... , London: Williams and Norgate, 1856, repr. as the introduction to Gunther, Astrolabes, I.
This an unusual kind of astrolabe, bearing a rete or star-map with a limited number of stars, a feature attested on two other known astrolabes, both of Maghribi provenance. Otherwise the instrument is typical of the astrolabes made in the Maghrib in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The Maghrib was the scene of serious activity in mathematical astronomy and astrology from the tenth to the fifteenth century, and an interest in traditional astronomy continued there until the early twentieth century. In particular, the construction of instruments – astrolabes, quadrants and sundials – continued into the late nineteenth century.
This unsigned Maghribi astrolabe, previously unrecorded, is, on the one hand, typical of the standard astrolabes that were made in the Maghrib during the period up to the nineteenth century. On the other hand, the rete or star-map is simplified to display a bare minimum of stars, a feature attested only on two other known Maghribi astrolabes, both with the mater engraved as a single plate, for which we use the appellation "astrolabic plate". We shall return to these other instruments below.
The astronomical engraving is accurate and the calligraphy in Maghribi kûfî is competent.The numbers on the scales and plates are marked in alphanumerical (abjad) notation according to the Maghribi convention. The throne is raised and without decoration. The shackle and the suspensory apparatus are original.
The date of construction is written in a bold European-style hand on the front of the throne, but in fact it is in acceptable Maghribi forms of the Hindu-Arabic numerals. It follows the Arabic word 'âm, "year". This date may not have been engraved by the maker of the astrolabe, but, if it was not, it is conceivable that it was engraved by a Maghribi colleague. Had the date been engraved by a European (that is, probably a Frenchman), the numbers '1' and '7' would not have been engraved as they are. It is tempting to imagine a visiting Englishman engraving these numerals – the forms are rather English! Certainly, if the date resulted from an attempt to deceive, then a much earlier date would surely have been chosen. In any case, our astrolabist engraved the word "year" in anticipation that someone would then engrave the year-number. The Hijra date 1207 corresponds to 1792/93, and a date of c.1800 would have been suggested for the astrolabe even if it had not been dated.The outer rim of the mater bears a 360° scale divided into 5°-intervals, subdivided into single degrees. The 5°-arguments are labelled thrice up to 100°, then up to 60°. The surface of the mater is carefully engraved with an extravagant foliate design.
The rete is typically Maghribi in style, with counter-changes along the horizontal bar and star-pointers of different, but all standard, design. The horizontal bar is curved between the ecliptic and the central ring. The ecliptic scale is labelled with the names of the zodiacal signs and is divided into 6°-intervals. The following nine stars are represented in each quadrant Q of the ecliptic beginning with the vernal equinox (on the left) and reckoning counter-clockwise. Each pointer bears standard star-names, mainly in abbreviated form:
Q1: dabarân (Aldebaran = a Tauri)
Q2: 'abûr (Sirius = a Canis maioris);
ghumaysâ' (Gomeisa = a Canis minoris)
Q3: râmih (Arcturus = a Boötis)
qalb al-'aqrab (Antares = a Scorpionis)
hawwâ' (Rasalhague = a Ophiuchi)
Q4: wâqi' (Vega = a Lyrae)
tâ'ir (Altair = a Aquilae)
dhanab qaytûs (Deneb Kaitos = i Ceti)
Usually Maghribi astrolabes serve 20-30 stars, but most of the star-pointers are superfluous for practical purposes, since a bare minimum – one or two per quadrant – will suffice. The choice of these particular astrolabe stars may not be optimal; ideally they should be spaced at more regular intervals, and here the first and second quadrants are not optimally served. However, as we shall see below, one tiny medieval European astrolabe, closely modelled on an Islamic prototype, has only four star-pointers on its rete, serving the bright stars Aldebaran, Regulus, Rasalhague and Altair.
There was originally a knob at each end of each major axis of the rete. Possibly these were of silver, as was not uncommon on Maghribi astrolabes. In addition, there are small insets on each of the star-pointers. Again, silver buttons may once have been found in these. The mater is engraved only with horizontal and vertical diameters.
There are two original plates with astrolabic markings for the following latitudes and no associated localities are stated (here provided in square brackets):
1a 21°40' [Mecca]
1b 25° [Medina]
2a 34° [Meknes]
2b 34°10' [??]
Each side is engraved with altitude circles for each 6°, except for 2a, which is engraved for each 5°, in addition to the standard curves for the seasonal hours below the horizon. All sides are engraved with azimuth circles for each 15°. The meridian and prime vertical are accentuated with fishbone markings. There are no special markings for the prayer-times, such as are standard on Maghribi astrolabes. Both plates have a protrusion at the top for fixing in the mater. The first three latitudes are standard medieval values, and it was usual to have a plate serving the holy cities of Islam. Meknes was, or rather, had been a siginificant centre of astronomy. The fourth latitude, 34°10', cannot be associated with any locality in the Maghrib, either from medieval geographical lists in manuscripts (Kennedy, Geographical Coordinates, p. 684) or from any known medieval astrolabes.The third plate is not original – the engraving is in a different Maghribi hand – and it is slightly more elegantly engraved than the two original ones. The protruding peg at the top is damaged; it is folded over, perhaps to make the plate fit in the mater. The latitudes and associated localities are marked as follows:
3a 30°, Cairo
3b 38°, Algiers
On each side there are altitude circles for each 6° and azimuth circles for each 10°, as well as curves for the seasonal hours below the horizon. There are fishbone markings for the meridian, labelled zawâl, and dotted markings for the altitudes 18° and 60° above the horizon, the former for finding the duration of twilight, and for the azimuth 60° from the meridian. There are no curves for the prayers. On the one hand, the plate presents a more sophisticated aspect than the other two. On the other hand, however, the latitude of Algiers is much too high, the accurate value being around 35°30'. Very few Maghribi astrolabes have markings for Algiers (see King, "Spanish Astrolabe", p. 38). The three plates fit within the mater, and there may be room for yet another. We can assume that at least one. if not two, of the original plates are missing. This, or these, would have served latitudes for Maghribi cities.
The back bears the usual scales found on late Maghribi astrolabes, and on most early ones too. On the upper outer rim, there are two altitude scales marked for each 5° and subdivided for each 1°. Within these, there is a solar scale with each 30° marked with the names of the zodiac and subdivided for each 5° and 1°. Then within this there is a calendar scale with the months labelled in the Western Islamic (= European) convention, as follows (showing only consonants and long vowels):
ynâyr – fbrâ'r – mârs – 'brîl – mâyh – yûnyh
yûlyh – gh-sh-t – sh-tnbr – 'ktbr – nûnbr – djnbr.
The divisions are marked for the number of days in each month. subdivided for each 5 days and 1 day. The equinox corresponds to March 8, by which one could date the piece roughly to c.1700 (this dating is not precise), but this should not be taken too seriously. (In late Islamic instrumentation, blind tradition prevailed with regard to calendar scales on instruments.) Below the horizontal diameter, there is a double shadow-square, with each scale marked in digits (base 12), labelled for each 2 digits and subdivided for each 1 digit. The horizontal scale is labelled al-zill al-mabsût and the vertical ones al-zill al-mankûs, indicating that they display the cotangents and tangents, respectively, of the solar altitude.
The alidade is unmarked and, along with the pin and wedge, is original. The wedge is fashioned as the front of a horse, as was standard.
As mentioned above, there are two Islamic astrolabic plates with simplified retes like the one under discussion here. There is considerable confusion about the first of these two pieces, which has been awarded erroneously four different numbers in the International Astrolabe Checklist; part of this confusion was caused by the instrument changing locations. The two instruments are:
(1) #0152 = #4191 = #5027 = #4303: astrolabic plate for latitude 34° (Meknes) with simplified rete showing 16 stars, instrument in the tradition of al-Khamâ'irî (Seville, c.1200), datable c.1600 — first in the India Office, London, now in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. See Morley, "Astrolabe", pp. 34-36, and fig. 24 on pl. XX; Gunther, Astrolabes, pp. 299-300 (no. 152); King, "Astronomy in the Maghrib", p. 204; and idem, Synchrony, pp. 36-37 and fig. 4.1.5 on p. 37, and p. 1011, under 1.6.15s*.
(2) #4137: astrolabic plate for latitude 34° (Meknes) with simplified rete displaying 7 stars, datable ca. 1700 – formerly in a European private collection; now in the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar; unpublished.
Only one medieval European astrolabe has a simplified rete, albeit of a much more sophisticated type:(3) #0169: a universal Italian astrolabic plate from about c.1300 with only 4 stars on the rete, inspired by an Islamic prototype – Oxford, Museum of the History of Science, inv. no. 40829. First mentioned in Gunther, Astrolabes, II, 319-320 (no. 169); published in detail in King, Synchrony, II, pp. 545-574. This inistrument is a mere 5.9 cm in diameter.
We are grateful to Professor David King for his assistance in preparing the catalogue entry for this lot.
Bibliographical notes:
For a survey of Maghribi astronomy and a list of Maghribi astronomical instruments see King, "Astronomy in the Maghrib". For an ordered list of late Maghribî astrolabes see King, In Synchrony with the Heavens, vol. II, pp. 1010-12 and 1014-15. On Islamic instrumentation see King, Synchrony, vol. II, passim, and on astrolabes as historical sources see ibid., pp. 33-68 and 339-402.
Bibliography:
Alain Brieux and Francis Maddison, Répertoire des facteurs d'astrolabes et de leurs oeuvres, Paris: CNRS, in press. [Signed instruments only.]
Robert T. Gunther, Astrolabes of the World, 2 vols., Oxford, 1932, repr. in 1 vol., London: The Holland Press, 1976.
Georges Ifrah, From One to Zero: A Universal History of Numbers, New York, etc.: Penguin Books, 1985 (translated from the 1981 French edition).
E. S. Kennedy and M.-H. Kennedy, Geographical Coordinates of Localities from Islamic Sources, Frankfurt: Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Sciences, 1987.
David A. King, "An Astrolabe from 14th-century Christian Spain with Inscriptions in Latin, Hebrew and Arabic", Suhayl — Journal for the History of the Exact and Natural Sciences in Islamic Civilisation (Barcelona), 3 (2002/03), pp. 9-156, also reprinted in In Synchrony with the Heavens, XV. [This article is available on the Internet: search under Suhayl.]
David A. King, "On the History of Astronomy in the Medieval Maghrib", in Études d'histoire des sciences arabes, Mohammed Abattouy, ed., Casablanca: 2007, pp. 175-218, to be reprinted in idem, Islamic Astronomy and Geography, Aldershot: Variorum, 2012.
David A. King, In Synchrony with the Heavens – Studies in Astronomical Timekeeping and Instrumentation in Medieval Islamic Civilization, 2 vols., Leiden: Brill, 2004-05.
L. A. Mayer, Islamic Astrolabists and their Works, Geneva: Albert Kundig, 1956.
William H. Morley, Description of a Planispheric Astrolabe Constructed for Sháh Sultán Husain Safawí ... , London: Williams and Norgate, 1856, repr. as the introduction to Gunther, Astrolabes, I.
Condition
Overall good condition, slight oxidation present on the reverse of the astrolabe.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."