Astrolabe Catalogue

The rete on this instrument is particularly decorative. The star pointer for Vega is a sitting bird. It was not uncommon for Islamic instruments to use a bird to point to Vega. Indeed, the Arabic name نسر الواقع (Nasr al-Waqi‘) means falling eagle. Although the name means falling eagle, the bird is usually depicted upright, perched or sitting, as in this case.

More unusual, at least in the Museum's collection, is the fact that the rete also incorporates the invocation from the Qur’an into the strapwork of the rete within the ecliptic. The invocation reads: بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم (commonly translated as 'In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful'). On the rete, the words of the invocation are rearranged to fit the physical needs of the rete's shape. The word الله (Allah) is at the top; بسم (bi-smi) is immediately below it. Then Allah's two traits, الرحمن and الرحيم are arranged symmetrically on either side of the bird. One other astrolabe in the collection (inventory no. 37148) originally incorporated an inscription into the rete, but most of this has now been lost.

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