The mater and three of the five plates are late Ottoman and datable to circa 1800 whereas the rete is of a much higher quality and is Iranian, possibly dating from the late-18th or early-19th century. The other two plates are probably by the same maker as the rete, since they are also Iranian and of a better quality than the rest of the instrument. It could be that the maker of the mater had acquired the rete and two plates and then decided to construct a complete astrolabe using them.

The throne is plain, with lateral lobes and a square base. The mater has 'spiralling' lines and concentric circles, presumably for a gazetteer which has not been engraved. The plates cover latitudes between 30º-40º. The back of the instrument bears a zodiacal/calendrical scale with Seleucid month-names, from which the Ottoman identification is gained. The alidade is a non-functional replacement, the mater being twice as large as it is, and the wedge is also a replacement, dated 1970.