AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE AND MONUMENTAL OTTOMAN SUNDIAL... Lot n° 86

Ottoman pillar shaped dual sundial made for the Holy City of Medina and sent by the Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid by a so called “Imperial Surre” or an “Imperial Caravan”, which was sent every year from Istanbul to the Holy Cities Mecca and Medina. This is the only imperial sundial send especially to Medina that has survived. General Anatomy and Dimensions The sundial consists of three separate parts, which are demountable: A wooden decorative head with a brass horizontal sundial with brass gnomon and a collapsible gnomon ( for the cylindrical sundial below). A wooden cylinder with a cylindrical sundial and two inscriptions engraved A base with a lower brass and higher wooden part. From the floor to the horizontal sundial, the pillar stands 103 cm high. The base is 37.5 cm in diameter at the widest lower part. The circumference of the middle wooden section which contains the cylinder sundial is 43 cm. The Inscriptions The instrument features two inscriptions in Ottoman thuluth script which are difficult to read at some points. The larger inscription is a cliché text which are, with minor differences, also used on Ottoman money pouches which were sent as gift to the two holy cities with an Imperial caravan carrying the gifts. For a very similar inscription see: (Ateş, p. 126) Medine-i Münevvere Nevverallâhu Teâla ilâ yevm’il âhire’de Ravza-i Mutahhara hizmet-i Celilesiyle mübeccel olan Harem-i Şerif ağavat-i Hazaratına şevketlü Kerametlü, mehâbetlü, Sultan-üz-Zaman Abdülhamid Han Halladllâhu Hilâfetuhû ilâ Ahirid-deveran hazretlerinin ceyb-i Hümâyünü Şahânelerinden Ta’yini mu’tad olan Surre-i Hümayûne mülükhaneleridir. This inscription might be translated as: Sent from the Personal Treasure of The Illustrious, Noble and Praiseworthy Sultan of our Time, Abdülhamid Han, May God endure his Caliphate until the end of times, To the Noble Misters (Aghawat-I Hazarat), who are praised with the glorious service of the Holy Garden ( Tomb of the Prophet Muhammad) in the Enlightened city of Medina , may God the Glorious, enlighten it until the end of times, as part of yearly Imperial Surre. This inscription shows clearly that it was sent as a gift to Medina with a so called “Imperial Surre” (Surre-i Hümayûn) caravan to the holy cities sent by the Ottoman Sultans. For the identification of the Sultan Abdulhamid in the inscription there are two choices: Abdülhamid I and Abdülhamid II. Abdülhamid I reigned between 1774-1789, Abdülhamid II between 1876-1909. In connection with the horizontal Sundial (see hereunder) it is not likely that it was sent by Sultan Abdülhamid I. But its more probable that it was sent by Sultan Abdülhamid II. Furthermore, if one examines the elaboration of woodwork and the inscriptions wording it is highly possible that the sundial was made personally by Sultan Abdülhamid II. If so, it is quite possible that he wanted to send a personal gift to the Holy mosque in Medina and made this monumental and unique sundial with his own hands. It was probably to be to be placed near the tomb of the Prophet in Medina so that the Muslims could see and read it and pray for him. Sultan Abdülhamid II was well-known as a master carpenter and an expert in processing wood into cupboard and fine cabinets. Sultan Abdülhamid II had also special care for the Muslim Community and therefore used the title of Caliphate to unite the worldwide Muslim community and sponsored large projects such as the railway to Medina . With various large projects, he tried to ease the long travel to and stay of Muslim pilgrims in the two holy cities. The second shorter inscription on the pillar, is directly related to the cylindrical sundial and seems to be identical to an inscription found on the other surviving Ottoman sundials, and reads in Ottoman Turkish : Irtifâ-i vakte âlâtdır etem Bu eflâtunun kuburudur hem Şems’e oldukça mukabil bu amûd Arz-ı mâdde bildirir evkat hem. It might be translated to English freely as follows: A instrument to determine the time by altitude perfectly It is also known as Plato’s cylinder As long as this pillar is opposite to the sun It will show time at it’s location The reference to Plato is interesting. The reference to Plato is only found on the surviving instruments, however in the literature “Ptolemy’s cylinder” or “The Staff of Moses” is used. (Gaye Danışan, Cylinder Dials.., 2020). The reference to ancient names might not be surprising, since cylinder sundial’s were known already in antiquity and there is a surviving example. However, the surviving example has only very recently come to light and further research is needed to see if there are earlier Islamic attributions. (Arnaldi & Schaldach, A Roman Cylinder Dial, 19