Astrolabe

Two-piece, square astrolabe standing on four feet in the shape of crouching lions; lid and base are joined by a hinge at one side of the square; a vertical, south-facing sundial - the hours on a narrow band that is straight on the right and left and domed at the bottom, collapsible gnomon, engraved world map inside the hour band (with Europe, Middle East, northern Africa, eastern North America), the signs of the Zodiac on the left and right and the constellations on the top and bottom of the hour band; the lid interior is divided into quarters by diagonal lines: celestial houses and planets governing the hours at the top, graphic conversion table for Italian, Bohemian and Nuremberg hours at the bottom, centrally rotating end-to-end (?) ruler with the inscriptions "LINEA FIDVCIAE" and "PARS HVIVS LINEAE HYPOTHENVSAE", wide strips with engraved scenes depicting astronomical observations and geometric measurements on the margins; on the inside of the base plate, framed by wide strips with 16 puffing Aeolus masks in relief, there is a circular engraved map of Germany with Nuremburg as the centre and a small removable disc, under which there is an inset compass; around that, a square frame with foot sundial in the shape of 12 tables (one for each month), seperated by relief scenes (each depicting a seasonal activity in agriculture and viniculture); the signature "CHRISTOPHORVS SCHISSLER FACIEBAT AVGVSTAE VINDELICORVM 1568" on the lid.