Sundial and qibla finder, Ottoman, 1757-1758

Diameter: approx. 24 cm. It was later also described by other scholars, including the Turkish admiral Seydi Ali Reis, making the instrument very popular in Ottoman circles. [Maddison & Savage-Smith, p. 277]. Al-Wafa’i’s instrument seems to be inspired by another instrument, namely the “Sanduq al-Yawakit” or the “Jewel Box”, invented by an earlier, well-known, fourteenth century Syrian astronomer and timekeeper Ibn al-Shatir.

[King, p.53] TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION The main disk of the instrument consists of a circular brass plate. The center of a disk features a magnetic compass. When the compass is used to align the instrument along the cardinal points, the Qibla can be read off simply by locating the name of the locality and reading of the direction of the Qibla. In this case this semi-circular arc and the graduated scale are missing along with other smaller parts. DATE AND MAKER The instrument is signed by the maker above the north point of the instrument in a cartouche as “ ’Amal Hasan Baba al-Duyuwi 1171” [1757/1758 AD], who seems to be unknown to literature. LITERATURE W. Brice, C. Imber and R. Lorch, The Dāi’re-yī Mu'addel of Seydī 'Alī Re'īs.

Seminar of Early Islamic Science, Monograph no. 1, University of Manchester, July 1976 David A. King, “An Islamic Astronomical Instrument”, Journal for the History of Astronomy, Vol. 10 (1979), Issue 1, p 51-53 Francis Maddison & Emilie Savage-Smith, Science, Tools and Magic. Part One. Body and Spirit, Mapping the Universe. Nour Foundation, Oxford, 1997, p. 277-279