Astrolabe with Hebrew characters
- Audio guide stop: 501
- Gallery: Room 40
- Culture: Jewish; Late Medieval
- Made in: Spain (?); Italy (?)
- Date: 14thC
- Object type: astrolabe
- Materials: brass (Tested and confirmed)
- Museum number: 1893,0616.3
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a beautifully crafted brass astrolabe from the 14th century, created in the Jewish tradition. This rare artifact features all Hebrew script inscriptions, including a 360° altitude scale marked on the rim of the mater. Delicate quatrefoil designs, made from three layers of metal, frame the astrolabe's throne.
Engraved scales provide astronomical and calendrical data—such as yearly cycles, leap years, and dayletters in Judaeo-Arabic. Star names are inscribed in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic, with one notably labeled "En zeh kokhav," meaning "This is not a star," as a decorative device.
The back of the astrolabe features a shadow scale and horary quadrants for timekeeping. It is one of only a few known European astrolabes with Hebrew markings, likely crafted in Spain or Italy for use in cities like Toledo or Naples.
See it in person
Astrolabe with Hebrew characters is on display in Room 40 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and type its audio guide stop number, 501, from the gallery label, or take a photo of it, to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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