Watch and Compass

Origin: Indian, North and Swiss, Late 19th century
Medium: Brass, enamel, silver overlay and glass
Ackland Fund, selected by The Ackland Associates
96.3.2

This watch and compass combination was used to indicate both the time and the direction for a Muslim prayer. A Muslim prays at least five times a day: at dawn, midday, late afternoon, sunset and evening, while facing in the direction of Mecca. Originally manufactured in Switzerland, the watch was adorned with invocations and prayers in Arabic calligraphy, by artisans in a workshop in India.

The intricacy of the calligraphic arabesque design of the case is accentuated by four concentric bands of blue, green, red and white enamel which form a star in the center. The face of the watch is framed with an Arabic calligraphic band of invocations. (The star and a crescent is a trademark, perhaps of the workshop where the decorating was done.)

The inscriptions in the center of the face include al-shehada (the profession of faith), the first of the Five Pillars of Islam which reads as follows: "There is no god but God and Mohammed is his Prophet." The name of the original owner also appears. This man, Sheikh Hadji Rahim Bakhsh, was a Shi'ite gem merchant from Ludhiana, a market town in the Punjab.