The Oriental Zodiac — Coloured Engraving

This printed planisphere features a central rotatable disc depicting the night sky, surrounded by a stationary outer ring marked with months and hours. The intricate engraving includes labels for major constellations, stars, and celestial features, while the corners of the page are filled with detailed instructions for the user on how to calculate star positions. It serves as an educational tool for amateur astronomers to track the movements of the heavens.

This instrument represents the Enlightenment transition of cosmology into a practical, pedagogical tool for navigation and observational science. It reflects the broader history of astronomical instruments that evolved from the astrolabe tradition of the medieval Islamic and classical worlds into early modern scientific instruction.