Lot n° 44
Estimation :
18000 - 20000
EUR
Maghrebian ASTROLABE, unsigned, late 12th century H (18th ce - Lot 44
Maghrebian ASTROLABE, unsigned, late 12th century H (18th century CE).
Brass.
An elegant spider-shaped astrolabe whose bases for the twenty-six stars are two- or three-lobed with a stylized floral design.
These bases are arranged as symmetrically as possible. Each of the two pointed bars connecting the ecliptic and the circle of Capricorn is called
qābiḍ—“the one who holds.” The east-west bar is crossed four times; there are six mudīr, and a square Capricorn indicator (al-murī). Two star markers are missing (‘abūr and dabarān), and several breaks have been clumsily repaired with visible welds on the back of the spider.
The twenty-six stars are:
η Ceti dhanab qayṭūs ذنب قيطوس
β Persei ghūl غول
α Tauri dabarān دبران
β Orionis qadam قدم
α Aurigae ʿayyūq عيوق
α Orionis mankib jaw[zā] منكب الجو[زا]
α Canis Maioris ʿabūr عبور
β Canis Minoris ghumayṣā غميصا
α Hydrae shujāʿ شجاع
α Cancri zubānā زبانا
ι Ursae Maioris yad dubb يد دبّ
μ Ursae Maioris rijl dubb رجل دبّ
? Crateris fam kaʾs فم كأس
α Virginis aʿzal اعزل
α Bootis rāmiḥ رامح
α Coronae Borealis fakka فكّة
α Serpentis ʿunuq ḥayya عنق حيّة
α Scorpionis qalb al-ʿaqrab قلب العقرب
α Ophiuchi raʾs ḥawwāʾ رأس حوّا
α Lyrae wāqiʿ واقع
δ Capricornus dhanab al-jadī ذنب الجدي
α Aquilae ṭāʾir طاير
α Cygni ridf ردف
? Pegasi kaʿb faras كعب فرس
? Ceti rijl qayṭūs رجل قيطوس
β Pegasi mankib faras منكب فرس
The mother and the limb are made of separate pieces riveted together and clumsily repaired by welding at a later date. The limb is graduated on a 360° scale, numbered every five degrees with numerals reading from the outside. A four-lobed throne, typical of the Maghreb, equipped with a loop and a ring, similar to European astrolabes. The base of the mother (umm) is hollow.
The back is graduated for the upper two-thirds with two 0–90-degree scales reading from east to west and numbered every five degrees; inside is a concentric zodiacal calendar, and at the center is a double square of shadows divided into twelve sections, with their parts named in the legend.
There is one of two tympanums for the (calculated) latitudes of 21° (Mecca) and 24° (Medina). This panel has numbered almucantars and features the twilight line, the markings for unequal hours, and the boundaries of prayer times, all labeled. The face for 21° is incomplete in these respects.
The alidade, which is quite massive, may have been replaced in the past.
The vanes are clumsily soldered.
Diameter: 15.4 cm.
PROVENANCE
Purchased by the current owner at La Porte d’Or, Marrakech, in March 2001.
A very interesting instrument from which one can infer either that the dial and the bezel were never attached to each other, or that the instrument was damaged and required repairs. Since the engraving of the numerals on the back extends over the rivets, it appears that these are original; however, except on the throne, the engraving does not completely penetrate the thickness of the dial, as there is no trace of the rivets on the face. Therefore, it is possible that they gave way on one side, which was subsequently repaired very clumsily with solder.
The spider appears to be by the same hand, except for the inscriptions on the Capricorn circle. These are more elaborate, likely added later, suggesting that the spider was never completed. Nevertheless, it is very finely crafted and original: the symmetrical arrangement of the star bases is atypical, and their decoration—almost floral—is unparalleled among known Maghreb astrolabes, although its origins can be traced to the single- or three-pointed trilobed bases found on other astrolabes from this period in the Maghreb.
The reverse side is consistent with the obverse; the later inscriptions next to the shadow square are likely by the same hand as the one that added the star names to the Capricorn ring.
In conclusion, it appears that the instrument was never completed, perhaps due to damage to the rivets.
Subsequent restorations were likely carried out.
Expert: Anthony TURNER
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