Date | ca. 1500 |
Place | Italy (?) |
Material | Brass |
Inventory no. | 35146 |
Acquisition | Presented by Lewis Evans in 1924 |
There are two different styles of script on this astrolabe. The older is found on the tympans and the rete. It is a cruder script consisting entirely of square capitals, often created with a punch, and it uses older number shapes. The more recent script is found on the mater and the back and consists of both upper and lower case letters which have noticeable serifs. The lower-case 's' is like the long 's' typical of 16th-century printing (that is, it resembles an ‘f’). These letters appear to be formed with letter stamps.
It seems likely, based on their markedly different numbering and lettering styles, that the body of the instrument is of somewhat later construction than the tympans and the rete. The quality of craftsmanship is also different between the two parts, the latter reflecting a superior attention to detail and accuracy. The style of the rete is a form of the simple medieval Ysrc=+ype found in the 14th century. Finally, the latitudes for which the plates are engraved seems to reflect an earlier tradition. By the sixteenth century, it was less common to include latitudes as low as 33° and 36°.
View all
images for this astrolabe
View
detailed provenance for this astrolabe
Mater
The mater and limb are of two pieces, soldered construction. Scales on the limb: degree scale; equal hours scale. More informationBack
The back contains 6 scales of the following types: Degree; Zodiacal signs; Calendar; Unequal hours; Shadow square. More informationRete, Pin & Wedge
The rete contains 16 stars. The zodiac on the rete is labelled: ARIES , TAVRVS , GEMMIN , CANCER , LEO , VIRGO , LIBRA , SCORPIO , SAGITTARIVS , CAPRICORNVS , AQVARIVS , PISCES.The rete contains 2 scales of the following types: Equal hours; Ecliptic.
The rete is attached using a pin & wedge. Heavy pin with large head; small wedge, crudely made. More information
Rules & Alidades
Type | Details |
---|---|
Pointer | Single-ended. May be later in date like the
alidade. |
Alidade | Double-ended, counter-changed. This crude alidade
might be a later replacement. Both sighting vanes have
broken off. |