ON THE DATING OF THE LATIN ASTROLABE OF THE PREACHING FRIARS IN THE MUSÉE DES ARTS PRÉCIEUX IN TOULOUSE.

The aim of this paper is to discuss the dating recently proposed by Davoust (2024) for the astrolabe of the Preaching Friars in the Musée des Arts Précieux in Toulouse (France). The proposed dating (1550 +/- ?) is based on an assessment of precession. I show that a detailed study of the star positions on the rete, supplemented by various scientific and historical criteria, suggests that this dating is not acceptable; in fact, it remains uncertain, but we can assume that the instrument was made one or two centuries earlier [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]