A LARGE ENGRAVED BRASS CELESTIAL GLOBE WITH BURAQ AND VIEWS OF ISLAMIC HOLY CITIES
Possibly Deccan or Northern India, dated 1252 AH (1836 - 1837 AD)

Of large spherical shape, pierced on either end of the main axis, engraved with a whimsical and extravagant decorative programme featuring twice Buraq, the Prophet's heavenly equine mount used during his Isra and Mi'raj journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, up through the heavens and back by night, amidst a group of winged angels, aerial and side views of the Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, the Prophet's cenotaph, and a stylised version of the sacred enclosure of Ka'ba, Masjid al-Haram, in Mecca, and several more mosque buildings characterised by tall minarets and bulbous domes, together with a variety of secular motifs like a crane with its new-born, a dragon attacking an antelope, a man weaving at a distant ship, a lion, and a simurgh, the centre of the globe crossed by graduated equatorial and ecliptic bands, the lower end engraved in a crude hand reading 'al-Sabah Zubaira' and the date 1252 AH, resting on a modern, unrelated French gilt bronze circular base, the circumference 82.5cm, 30.3cm high including the base.