E5570-1

Astrolabe: rete Long Caption: The arrangement of the strapwork on the rete helps to place the manufacture of this astrolabe to the town of Lyon at around 1550. At this time, Lyon was one of Europe's leading centres for clock- and watchmakers and Jean Naze was a maker of such instruments. He also made astrolabes and there is a signed example in the Musee des Beaux-Arts in Lyon. Although the NMM astrolabe is unsigned, the arrangement on the back and the scales on the front are virtually identical to the astrolabe in Lyon and so this instrument has been attributed to Naze. For some reason, the numbers on this astrolabe were inconsistently marked: the maker used a set of punches on certain parts of the instrument (the rim and the calendar), while the rest of the numbers are crudely engraved. Credit line: © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London Object: AST0571 Artist: attributed to Jean Naze Date: 1553 Medium: brass Size: diameter: 139 mm Click here to buy a bespoke print of this image.