Qibla Compass, Constantinople, 1750-99 (wood)

Comprising a rectangular wooden panel with two printed roundels, the upper one with a depiction of the Haram al-Sharif in Mecca and a description by the inventor of the instrument, dated below AH 1151 (1738-9 AD), the lower roundel with a depiction of a map of the world above a series of tables listing the countries of the world, a small compass in between, the whole illuminated with floral decoration, the reverse of the instrument and the case painted with green marbling, the exterior of the doors inscribed with a poem in Turkish in praise of the object.