Inventory no. 44790 - Former Display Label
Persian CELESTIAL GLOBE
764 A.H. = 1362-3 A.D.
Brass, inlaid with silver. Signed, '... Made by Ja'far ibn 'Umar ibn Dawlatshah al-Kirmani'; dated, 764 A.H., 732 of the era of Yezdigird, and 1674 of the era of Alexander.
The globe shows the constellations and the ecliptic. The stars are represented by inlaid silver discs whose sizes correspond to the magnitude of the stars. The axis of the globe can be adjusted for various latitudes in the northern hemisphere.
The inscription which records the maker's name and the date, also states that the constellations on the globe have been drawn according to the 'Book of the Fixed Stars' of Abü-l-Husain 'Abd al-Rahman al-Süfi and that the increase of the longitudes of its stars has been computed for the time when the globe was made. Abü-l-Husain 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Umar al-Süfi al-Razi (903-986 A.D.) was one of the greatest Muslim astronomers, and his illustrated 'Book of the Fixed Stars', 'one of the three masterpieces of Muslim observational astronomy' (Sarton).
The inscription mentioned is engraved over another inscription which was partially erased. This records that the globe was made by Ja'far for a certain Muhammad ibn Asil.
[2900]
Lewis Evans Collection
Other narratives:
- Persian instruments
- Special Exhibition Label: 'Al-Mizan: Sciences and Arts in the Islamic World' (26/10/2010 - 20/03/2011)