Persian wooden horary quadrant (15 cm radius), with painted scales and compass in leather case, by Muhammad Abd al-Hadi-Safadi and dated AH 1140 (1727-8).

Dated 1727-8, this Islamic horary quadrant was made by Muhammad Abd al-Hadi-Safadi in Persia (Iran). Made of wood the quadrant has hand drawn painted scales and inscriptions along with a magnetic compass. The horary quadrant was used for finding local time by sighting either the Sun or a bright star at night. Held vertically, a measurement could be taken from the position on the scale of a moveable bead on the thread of the plumb bob of the instrument. The horary quadrant was derived from the astrolabe and first appeared during the Medieval Period. Like its predecessor it includes a two-dimensional depiction of a celestial sphere that is reduced to a quarter.