This item has been added to the Database within the Explore Islamic Art Collections project. Information is available in: English, Arabic.

Name of Object:

Astrolabe of ‘Umar ibn Yusuf ibn ‘Umar ibn ‘Ali ibn Rasul al-Muzaffari

Location:

New York, United States of America

Holding Museum:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

About The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Date of Object:

Dated Hegira 690 / AD 1291

Museum Inventory Number:

91.1.535a–h

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Brass; cast and hammered, pierced, chased, inlaid with silver

Dimensions:

Case (a): Max. W: 19.4cm, Diameter: 15.6cm, D: 0.6cm; Bar with attached nail (b): Max. H: 4.8cm, Max. W: 2.9cm, L: 12.7cm; Net (c): Diameter: 12.7cm; Plates (d-g): Diameter: 12.7cm; Pin (h): L: 4.4cm, W: 1.3cm

Period / Dynasty:

Rasulid

Provenance:

Yemen

Description:

This astrolabe is unusually well documented for an object produced during the medieval period. Its inscription attributes it to a Rasulid prince, ‘Umar ibn Yusuf, a few years before he ascended to the throne (r. 1295–96). ‘Umar compiled a number of scientific treatises, including one on the construction of astrolabes, an autographed version of which is preserved in Cairo and contains certifications by his teachers as to his competence as a maker of such devices and a description of this very piece.

How Object was obtained:

Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891

Maker: ‘Umar ibn Yusuf ibn ‘Umar ibn ‘Ali ibn Rasul al-Muzaffari

Former owner: Edward C. Moore, American, New York 1827–1891 New York, New York (until d. 1891; bequeathed to MMA)

Selected bibliography:

Dimand, Maurice S., "Specimens of Mohammedan Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art", Metropolitan Museum Studies, 1/1 (November 1928): 107, ill. fig. 8 (b/w).
Djebbar, Ahmed, L'Age d'Or des Sciences Arabes, Paris: Institut du Monde Arabe, 2005: 98-99, no. 26, ill. fig. 26 (colour).
Ekhtiar, Maryam, Canby, Shelia R., Haidar, Navina and Soucek, Priscilla P. (eds), Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011: 158-159, no. 107, ill. 158 (colour).
Ettinghausen, Richard (ed), The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, Berlin: Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz Berlin, 1981: 146-147, no. 56, ill. 147 (colour).
King, David A., Islamic Astronomy and Geography, Farnham, England: Ashgate, 2012: 156, ill. fig. 9.6.
Walker, Daniel S., Ponce Guadián, Arturo, Babaie, Sussan, Carboni, Stefano, Froom, Aimee, Swietochowski, Marie Lukens, Masuya, Tomoko, Daskalakis-Matthews, Annie Christine, Kahil, Abdallah and Kessler, Rochelle, Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York. Colegio de San Ildefonso, Septiembre de 1994-Enero de 1995, Mexico City: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 1994: 206-207, no. 81, ill. 207 (b/w).

Additional Copyright Information:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891

Citation of this web page:

 "Astrolabe of ‘Umar ibn Yusuf ibn ‘Umar ibn ‘Ali ibn Rasul al-Muzaffari" in Explore Islamic Art Collections. Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;us;Mus23;1;en

MWNF Working Number: US3 01