Bidspirit auction | OTTOMAN LACQUERED WOOD QIBLA COMPASS

OTTOMAN LACQUERED WOOD QIBLA COMPASS - Ca. 18th - 19th century AD. A lacquered wooden qibla of circular form with a fitted two-part case, one half housing the compass and the other forming the lid. The working half contains an inset compass above a coloured map indicating the regions of use, with a tabulated list of cities and their coordinates below. The inside of the companion lid is with the Masjid al-Haram and the Ka?ba, flanking views of ?Arafat, palms and olive trees, and a cartouche, all above a long Arabic inscription naming the maker and giving instructions for use. The exterior is decorated on one face with a Turkish Baroque-Rococo scheme on a gilded ground with vases of roses, scrolling acanthus and tendrils, set with six oval reserves of figureless landscape views; the other face shows a central bouquet of roses on a green field within a continuous border of entwined leafy garlands. The sides are banded and detailed in polychrome.Size: 35mm x 320mm; Weight: 1.2kgProvenance: Private UK Collection.