“To explore the connections between people, science, art, and belief” is the mission of the History of Science Museum of Oxford University (HSM), founded in AH 1342/1924 CE and housed in the world’s oldest public museum building. At the heart of the museum is Lewis Evans’ extraordinary collection of timekeeping instruments from early modern Europe and the Islamic world. Evans’ collection is astonishing for several reasons: its size (over 800 instruments), its quality (instruments authenticated by date, name of maker, and circumstances of production), its significance (masterpieces notable for their technical sophistication and their illustrious owners), and its scope (ranging in time and across both the European and Islamic worlds). 

In the century since Lewis Evans’ donation, the HSM has become a center for the history of science at the University of Oxford and now holds an unrivaled collection of early astronomical and mathematical instruments from Europe and the Islamic world, as well as an exceptionally rich set of microscopes and telescopes. The HSM also holds a wide range of extraordinary objects, of which Einstein’s blackboard is one of the most popular. Deeply embedded within its diverse communities, the HSM has won many awards for its work in using objects to bring people together and to reveal the many narratives and histories to which the objects bear witness. As a platform for showcasing the power of material culture in highlighting what unites, rather than divides, societies, the Islamic Art Biennale, and particularly AlMadar, is an exciting partner for the HSM.

Astrolabe with a geared calendar and inlaid images of the signs of the zodiac around the rim

This innovative astrolabe is the oldest complete geared mechanism in the world. The gears drive a lunar calendar: windows at the top of the back show the changing faces of the moon and its phases over the course of one month; the windows below indicate the motion of the moon (the silver dot) and sun (the gold dot) over the course of a year. The inscription on the back of the astrolabe urges the reader to marvel at the many wonders “that prove the wisdom of the Merciful; its different motions are by virtue of a single mover, and it has meanings beyond all meanings.” In the astrolabe’s technical innovation and exquisite decoration, Muhammad bin Abi Bakr has attempted to make the miracle of creation tangible, as a wondrous phenomenon not fully graspable in its full complexity.