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The first release is intentionally small: three sourced objects, one historic place, and one curator-defined comparison.

Object

Planispheric Astrolabe

1654–55 · Mashhad, Iran · brass and steel · The Met 63.166a–j

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Object

Astrolabe of ‘Umar ibn Yusuf

1291 · Yemen · brass with silver inlay · The Met 91.1.535a–h

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Object

Bodhisattva

10th century · China, Wuyue kingdom · leaded bronze · The Met 25.217.3

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Place

The Temple of Dendur

Completed by 10 CE · Dendur, Nubia · now at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Curated collection

How do two astrolabes carry place?

A close comparison of instruments recorded in Yemen and Mashhad.

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Curator's evidence fileroot / SEARCH-THE-RECORDS

Search the records

The first release is intentionally small: three sourced objects, one historic place, and one curator-defined comparison.

Evidence register
ObserveDescribe material, form, marks, wear or spatial relation without assigning identity or purpose. Begin with “Planispheric Astrolabe.”
ContextLocate the record in excavation, collection, restoration and display history. Check the chain against the page sources and linked institutional records.
InferBegin with observable features, connect each inference to a source, and mark the point where evidence gives way to a plausible but revisable interpretation. Tie every attribution to the feature that supports it and retain competing readings.
WithholdDo not extend “Astrolabe of ‘Umar ibn Yusuf” beyond the date, sample, comparison or provenance actually documented.

Provenance checkpoint

List each custody or documentation gap separately; an unknown interval is evidence about the record, not permission to invent continuity.

Catalogue note

10th century · China, Wuyue kingdom · leaded bronze · The Met 25.217.3 Mark later repairs, labels and digital reconstructions as later interventions rather than original features.

Research-room prompt

What single comparison object, technical test or archive entry would most change the interpretation of Search the records?