Celestial globe
- Audio guide stop: 632
- Gallery: Room 42
- Culture: Timurid dynasty
- Made in: Iran
- Date: 1430-1431 (AH 834)
- Object type: celestial globe
- Materials: brass; silver (inlays)
- Museum number: 1896,0323.1
- 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 celestial globe crafted during the Timurid dynasty in Iran around 1430. This intricate brass globe is engraved and decorated with silver inlay, marking approximately sixty stars across its surface. The zodiacal signs are engraved along the ecliptic, and the stars and constellations are identified in elegant Kufic script.
A silver inscription near the south pole states that the stars were placed based on calculations made in 1430, following a medieval astronomical treatise by the scholar al-Sufi. The globe is also marked with dates from the Yazdijird and Alexandrian calendars, providing a fascinating glimpse into scientific thought of the time.
Created by Muhammad ibn Jafar ibn Umar al-Asturlabi, it reflects the scholarly and artistic achievements under Timurid rule. These globes were not only beautiful objects but also educational tools used in observatories like the one in Samarqand.
See it in person
Celestial globe is on display in Room 42 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, 632, from the gallery label, or take a photo of it, to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
New, in beta. British Museum support has just launched and is still improving: over 1,000 objects so far, with more added all the time.
