Astrolabe, Hispano-Moorish, c.1300 (Inv. 45307)
The meeting of Islam and Christendom
The 'Hispano-Moorish' astrolabes of medieval Spain represent an amalgam of Islamic and Christian traditions in instrument making. In this case they have combined to produce a beautiful design: note in particular the elegant birds on the rete whose long beaks are star pointers.