Special Exhibition Label: 'Al-Mizan: Sciences and Arts in the Islamic World' (26/10/2010 - 20/03/2011)
Materials
Ingenuity and Style
The astrolabe-quadrant is an ingenious compression of the standard astrolabe. First described by the 13th-century Judaeo-Provençal mathematician known as Prophatius Judaeus, it reduces an astrolabe from a circle to a quadrant by 'folding' the essential lines twice over. This example was made in Ottoman Turkey in 1682/3. At that time, lacquered wood was prized in Persia and Turkey for pen-boxes and book covers. Islamic 'lacquers' were actually varnishes rather than the latex resin of the original Chinese variety. Under the varnish, delicate floral arabesques have been painted in gold, in a typical Ottoman style. The instrument still retains its original case of velvet decorated with metal-wired peonies and lined with silk. Known as brocades, such precious fabrics were used for cushions or clothes in princely houses. They were also exported to Europe, where they were highly valued.
MHS inv. 15598