A brass sky written in calligraphy

Art and calculation inhabit the same small instrument.

Circular brass astrolabe with a pierced, calligraphic faceplate and suspension ring — Complete image · The Metropolitan Museum of ArtOpen full-resolution image

Look closer

Let your eye lead the way.

Follow the pierced script rather than treating it as decoration without meaning.
Compare the layered circular plates with the surrounding graduated rim.
Find the suspension ring: this is an object made to be held and used.

The story behind the object

Before the instrument gives up a single calculation, it gives the eye a path to follow: rings within rings, a web of pierced metal, lettering made part of the structure. The faceplate opens with an invocation to God.

The Met identifies this astrolabe as an instrument for time-telling and astrological calculations rather than precise astronomical observations. Look at it as an encounter between skilled making, calculation and the beliefs of its time—not as proof that astrology works.

Original source & provenance

Institutional title: Planispheric Astrolabe
Maker / origin: Muhammad Zaman al-Munajjim al-Asturlabi; attributed to Mashhad, Iran
Date: 1065 AH / 1654–55 CE
Material: Brass and steel
Collection / accession: The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 63.166a–j

The place attribution is Mashhad, not a certainty. The object is held in New York; its religious script and Iranian context remain part of its story.

View at the museum

Image & reproduction rights

The Met identifies this image as public domain under its Open Access CC0 programme. Collection research dated 2026-11-01. Credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession 63.166a–j.

The complete master is 2898 × 3870 pixels. The smaller display copies preserve the whole image; no invented detail has been added. This is not a print-quality promise, museum endorsement or worldwide clearance of non-copyright restrictions.

Met Open Access terms · Original museum image

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