Accession No
0227
Brief Description
unfinished single-plate astrological astrolabe / lunar calendar, with alidade, French, 3/4 16th century
Origin
France
Maker
Class
astronomy
Earliest Date
1550
Latest Date
1575
Inscription Date
Material
metal (brass, copper)
Dimensions
diameter 169 mm
Special Collection
Robert Whipple collection
Provenance
Purchased by Robert Stewart Whipple from P. Webster, London, on 20/05/1925.
Inscription
Description Notes
Unfinished single-plate astrological astrolabe / lunar calendar, with alidade, French, 3/4 16th century.
Astrological disc of brass, with integral throne in the form of two huddled figures wearing laurel wreaths. A suspension hook is attached. The counterchanged alidade is joined to the plate by a brass and copper rivet, hammered flat on reverse. Alidade is decorated with foliate motif.
Plate is marked with (innermost to outermost):
Compass rose. Labelled: NORD, Nord nordest, Nordest, Est nordest, EST, Est sudest, Sudest, Sud sudest, SUD, Sud sudouest, Sudouest, Ouest sudouest, OUEST, Ouest nordouest, Nordouest, Nord nordouest. North is at the top.
Circular hour scale, twice twelve hours marked, and divided to quarter hours.
Circular lunar scale of twenty-nine and a half days, marked in days and divided to half days. At top of scale is engraved a sun-face and moon, with the label: Coniunctio lunae. At 90o is a waxing crescent moon-face labelled Prima quadratura. At 180o a full moon-face is labelled Oppositio Lunae, and at 270o the waning crescent is marked Secunda quadratura. The scale is also marked with a triangle in days 10 and 20, and an asterisk in days 5 and 25.
Calendar scale of months, marked in Latin and in Romanesque capitals, and divided to single days with tens labelled. Numerals have been punched, not engraved. The vertical origin of the plate falls on the 22nd of June.
Zodiacal calendar scale, divided to single degrees and marked in tens, and labelled: Cancer. 4. frigi. & humi. Indiff. / Leo. 5. cal. & sic. malum sang. ext. / Virgo. 6. frigi & siccum Indiffe. / Libra. 7 cali esthum. bon. san. ext. / Scorpio. 8. frig. est. humid. Indiff. / Sagittarius. 9. cald. et. hum. bonu~ / Capricornus. 0. frig. et siccummal. / Aquarius. -. cali et humi. bonum / Pisces. =. frig. et hum. bonu~ san ext. / Aries. 1. calid & humid. bonu~ / Taurus. 2. frigiod & siccu~ malu~ / Gemini. 3. calid & humid. malu~ /. 1st point of Aries is March 20th.
Outermost scale of degrees, 90-0-90-0-90, divided to single degrees and marked in tens.
The plate has been pierced by five holes near the west - east axis.
On the reverse of the plate is a single scale of degrees, 90-0-90-0-90, divided to single degrees and marked in tens. The plate has been divided into quarters, but is otherwise bare.
This instrument has been tentatively linked to the work of Antoine Mestrel and to that of Philippe Danfrie, although both attributions are very tentative and it is more likely by neither maker.
References
Events
Description
An astrolabe is a model of the heavens with the earth placed at the centre. A section of the heavens is projected on to the astrolabe. The co-ordinates of stars and planets are depicted on a grid called the rete. The earth is represented by latitude plates of which there are more than one. This is because the movement of the stars depends upon the latitude of the place from where the observation is made. Cambridge has a latitude of 52°, Rome 42°, Madrid 41°, and Paris 49°. Each latitude plate has circles and lines engraved on them which include the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, the equator and a twilight line. The rete and latitude plates are housed within the mather which has a raised edge called the limb. On European astrolabes the limb is engraved with a degree scale showing 0° to 360° and / or a scale of 24 equal hours.
From display label:
This astrological disc has many of the features of an astrolabe, but lacks a projection. The zodiacal calendar scale is marked with the qualities of the signs: Cancer, for example, is cold and wet but Leo is hot and dry.
FM:39700
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