Astrolabe quadrant - Lot 334

Astrolabe quadrant Wood, polychrome and gold Turkey, 17th/19th century 15.2 x 18.1 x 2.2 cm Wooden, written and drawn in red and black, it features a table of hours, graduations and an astronomical projection of latitudes and longitudes. Wooden astrolabe quadrants were used as scientific instruments in the Ottoman world. Inspired by the Ptolemaic model, they were also used in the Muslim world to determine the qibla and prayer times. These instruments are very difficult to date, as they were manufactured with little variation from the 17th to the 19th century. For an example of a painted wooden astrolabe from the early 19th century, see : Catalog d'Exposition, L'Âge d'Or des Sciences Arabes, 2005, Institut du Monde Arabe/Acte Sud, p. 105, no. 37.