Copy of a Maghrebian time disc from H1197 [AD 1782/3], late - Lot 204

Lot 204
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Estimation :
3000 - 4000 EUR
Copy of a Maghrebian time disc from H1197 [AD 1782/3], late - Lot 204
Copy of a Maghrebian time disc from H1197 [AD 1782/3], late 19th or 20th century Copper-plated brass D. 197mm; h. with throne 235m. The instrument is composed of two plates, about 2mm thick, riveted together and engraved with a writing mixing Maghrebian and kufic forms with western numerals (ghoubar). Obverse: division into four quadrants drawn at 45° from the vertical axis of the instrument. The upper quadrant contains the inscription. The right and left quadrants show the coordinates of sixteen stars, eight from the northern hemisphere, eight from the southern hemisphere, below is a quadrant of sine and cosine crossed by the usual arcs of the obliquity of the ecliptic, the sines and the verses Reverse: a scale of degrees is found around the perimeter in the upper two quarters; the center is occupied by a table of the sunset time organized by the twelve signs of the zodiac using ghoubar numerals. The alidade is missing. The ruler in place, which bears the names of the signs of the zodiac, is more recent than the rest of the instrument. This unusual instrument is largely a clumsy copy of an instrument dated 1197 A.H. (Christian era 1782/3), brought to France from Morocco by Captain Jules Erckmann (1850-1901), head of the military mission in Fez and author of Le Maroc Moderne (1885). It can also be compared with a similar instrument from the mid-19th century. For the original instrument see G. Delphin, 'L'Astronomie au Maroc', Journal Asiatique, 8th series, xvii 1891, 177-200. Christie's South Kensington, Time measuring instruments from the Time Museum, auction 14 April 1988, lot 147. For the second instrument see Libert& Castor - Alain Brieux, Scientific instruments, antique books : Leonard Linton Collection - to various amateurs 9 & 10 October 1980, lot 184.
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