A PERSIAN ASTROLOBE, DATED 1831-32

Planispherical astrolabe in hammered brass, finely chiseled and engraved, comprising a mother, a spider, four eardrums, a graduated alidade, and a nail (The horse is missing). The inscriptions are in elegant Naskh script. The mother is surmounted by a multi-lobed throne decorated with an upholstery floral arrangement on each side, embellished with a bird on the front. A bail and a ring are attached to the throne. The limbus is divided into 360 °, divided by 5 ° intervals, subdivided by half a degree (½ °), with the graduation in abjad. The interior of the mother is engraved with concentric, radiating lines containing the names of Iranian cities, with an inscription in the center giving the date 1247H./ 1831-32. The reverse features an unequal hours diagram, the square of shadows and the twelve signs of the zodiac engraved in the lower part. The spider gives the position and names of 28 stars, 11 of which are inside the ecliptic and 17 outside, with the signs of the zodiac inscribed on the trace of the ecliptic. Four eardrums give the following latitudes: 30 °, 32 °, 33 °, 34 °, 36 ° and 42 ° Iran, Qajar period, dated 1831-32 Throne height: 23.8 cm; bail height: 25.5 cm; Diameter: 17.5 cm