Celestial globe

Back

Description:

Celestial globe with stand, made of brass inlaid with silver; globe decorated with the 48 constellations and inscribed with their names in Arabic; engraved with the name of the maker Muhammad ibn Hilal al-Munajjim al-Mawsili ('The Astrologer from Mosul'); stand decorated with talismans; dated AH 674 (1275/6); probably made for the observatory at Maragha in Iran.

Object type:	celestial globe
Museum number:	1871,0301.1.a-b
Culture/period:	Middle Islamic
Date:	1275-1276 (AH 674)
Production place:	Made in: Mosul
Findspot:	Found/Acquired: Mesopotamia
Materials:	brass, silver
Technique:	inlaid, engraved
Dimensions:	Diameter: 36.00 cm (globe) Height: 51.00 cm Diameter: 29.00 cm (foot)
Inscriptions:	Inscription details: inscription (globe and stand) in Arabic in naskh script Inscription quoted:
Location:	17
Exhibition history:	Exhibited: 2012 19 Mar-2 Jun, Qatar, Doha, Museum of Islamic Art, 'Gifts of the Sultans' 2011-2012 23 Oct-15 Jan, USA, Houston, Museum of Fine Arts, 'Gifts of the Sultans' 2011 05 Jun-30 Sept, USA, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 'Gifts of the Sultans' 2010 29 May-15 Oct, USA, Kentucky Horse Park, 'A Gift from the Desert' 2008-2009 13 Nov-15 Mar, BM, G35, 'Babylon: Myth and Reality'
Acquisition names:	Purchased from: General Sir John Malcom
Acquisition date:	1871

Curator's comments:

References: R. Pinder-Wilson, 'The Malcolm celestial globe', British Museum Yearbook 2, vol 1 (1976), pp297-321 (reprinted in Studies in Islamic Art, Pindar Press, London, 1985). E. Savage-Smith, Islamicate celestial globes: Smithsonian studies in history and technology, vol 46, catalogue entry no.4, pp219-220 (Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985) B. Dorn, 'Description of the celestial globe belonging to Major-General Sir John Malcolm...deposited in the Museum of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland', Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, vol 2, issue 2, pp371-392 (1830)