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拍品专文
The astrolabe's origin probably dates at least as far back as the ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus (c. 190-120 BC). As with so much astronomy, through the traditions of medieval Islamic science it was reintroduced to the Latin West by the thirteenth century, where it became a key time-telling instrument. Their production in Europe reached its zenith in the late Renaissance when they were made for princely collections and came to be the iconic instrument of astronomical knowledge.
A brass plate, the rete, carries hooked pointers for named stars and acts as a rotating celestial map above a grid that shows the lines of altitude and azimuth in the night sky; the owner of the astrolabe would be able to change the plate carrying the grid depending on how far North or South they were -- the mapping of the night sky onto a flat disc is done via a stereographic projection. The reverse of the astrolabe carries a compendium of different projections, a sundial and grid for trigonometry calculations, a calendar and a shadow square that can be used to measure the heights of buildings. Around the back plate rotates an alidade with pinhole sights that are used to observe the height of the Sun or a given star (the taking of a star's position gives the ancient greek etymology astro-labos, 'star-taker').
The star pointers on the rete are reminiscent of Louvain school of instrument makers, whilst the strapwork is similar to that of an astrolabe by Melchior Tavernier (1564-1641), sold Christies 27 April 2016 lot 193. Melchior Tavernier (1564-1641) is recorded as a map dealer and publisher in Paris working from L'Isle du Palais with a Royal appointment as 'Graveur et Imprimeur du Roy'. His nephew, Melchior Tavernier the Younger (1594-1665) carried on publishing at the same address after 1641. Other than a book on sundials, no signed further instruments are known to survive by the Tavernier family. Tooley records them as cooperating with two great names of cartography - Hondius and Jansson.
A brass plate, the rete, carries hooked pointers for named stars and acts as a rotating celestial map above a grid that shows the lines of altitude and azimuth in the night sky; the owner of the astrolabe would be able to change the plate carrying the grid depending on how far North or South they were -- the mapping of the night sky onto a flat disc is done via a stereographic projection. The reverse of the astrolabe carries a compendium of different projections, a sundial and grid for trigonometry calculations, a calendar and a shadow square that can be used to measure the heights of buildings. Around the back plate rotates an alidade with pinhole sights that are used to observe the height of the Sun or a given star (the taking of a star's position gives the ancient greek etymology astro-labos, 'star-taker').
The star pointers on the rete are reminiscent of Louvain school of instrument makers, whilst the strapwork is similar to that of an astrolabe by Melchior Tavernier (1564-1641), sold Christies 27 April 2016 lot 193. Melchior Tavernier (1564-1641) is recorded as a map dealer and publisher in Paris working from L'Isle du Palais with a Royal appointment as 'Graveur et Imprimeur du Roy'. His nephew, Melchior Tavernier the Younger (1594-1665) carried on publishing at the same address after 1641. Other than a book on sundials, no signed further instruments are known to survive by the Tavernier family. Tooley records them as cooperating with two great names of cartography - Hondius and Jansson.