divination compass

Portable diptych dial, a sundial and moon dial with two leaves connected with string when unfolded. Made of varnished wood with brass fittings. The exterior top leaf has a revolving lunar volvelle marked in black ink with 30 days and 12 shichen, a unit of two hours. The inner top leaf features a vertical dial. The inner bottom leaf shows a horizontal dial and set with a metal compass with glass cover in the centre, encircling the compass at cardinal points are three directions marked in black and the South marked in red. On both sides of the bottom leaf are marked with 24 solar terms, jieqi. The underside has Chinese inscriptions giving instructions on how to use this combined sundial and moon dial, followed by the maker's name and the place where he came from: Fang Xiu-shui from Xiu-Li county in Anhui, Xin-an, province.

See Stephan Feuchtwang (1974) An Anthropological Analysis of Chinese Geomancy Vientiane: Editions Vithagna. Part Two 'The indigenous model' explains the significance of the several rings and the symbols in them.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
14.77
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 80 x 75 x 56 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
wood; brass; glass; string
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
SHAREABLE LINK

Continue exploring anthropology

Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

If you have any further information about objects in our collections, can suggest corrections to our information or if you see content requiring immediate action, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk