Abstract
The astrolabe is a two-dimensional model of the universe. The origins of this astronomical instrument were in Greece around the 1st century BC. From the 8th century the Islamic world developed it further to make it an instrument at the service of religion and, by adding decorative elements, also attractive to the civil power. A chronological journey from the 10th to the 15th centuries accompanied by both, the Andalusian astrolabes and those executed in the Hispanic Christian kingdoms, evidences the evolution of their sumptuary dimension. Astrolabes that have attained our days are made of brass. The analysis of the alloy composition of each part of the astrolabe, helps to approach the layout of the medieval astrolabe workshops. The Astrolabe Treatises, written in Arabic, Latin and Castilian let us know the theoretical design process, the applications and operating mode of astrolabes.
Highlights
The astrolabe is a two-dimensional model of the universe
A chronological journey from the 10th to the 15th centuries accompanied by both, the Andalusí astrolabes and those executed in the Hispanic Christian kingdoms, evidences the evolution of their sumptuary dimension
Astrolabes that have attained our days are made of brass
Summary
104-106; “Ficha catalográfica online del Astrolabio de Muhammad ibn al-Saffār. Los punteros pierden robustez y son más susceptibles de sufrir deformaciones o roturas que perjudiquen el uso del astrolabio, pero la dimensión decorativa se convierte en esencial y ya no habrá vuelta atrás. La más hermosa araña taifa que nos ha llegado es la del astrolabio fechado en 460 H (1067-1068 d.C.) 19 (Fig. 2) y conservado en el Museo de Historia de la Ciencia de Oxford, obra de uno de los grandes astrolabistas andalusíes, Ibrāhīm ibn Sa’īd al-Shalī, activo primero en Toledo y luego en Valencia, tras la conquista cristiana de Toledo. Ibrāhīm ibn Sa’īd al-Shalī introduce en sus arañas elementos decorativos de tipo arquitectónico y otros zoomórficos además de incrementar la estilización y dinamización visual de los punteros estelares. Suyo es también el astrolabio que conserva el Museo Arqueológico Nacional de Madrid
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