One of the highlights of the upcoming Arts of the Islamic World auction in London is a magnificent 11th-century Umayyad brass astrolabe, signed by Muhammad ibn al-Saffar. Astrolabes are elaborate instruments designed to determine the solar or stellar hour at a specific location, allowing the user to make a number of astronomical or astrological observations. They were used by astronomers and navigators from classical antiquity to the Renaissance. Click ahead to explore this fascinating object in more detail.
Arts of the Islamic World
26 April 2017 | London