divination compass

Portable diptych dial. Rectangular lidded hinged compass box of varnished wood with small glass compass dial, luopan, and metal hand inside box. Black inscriptions inside forming a circular dial on inside of the lid. A broken pink string would have once attached the lid to the base from the inside. The outside of the lid is inscribed with Chinese characters and has an extenuated dial attached by a metal nail. The back of the base and the side of the box are also inscribed with Chinese characters. The lid is slightly damaged, and the glass of the compass is cracked.

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

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
1973.19
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 70 mm x 55 mm x 25 mm; overall with the lid open: 75 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
wood; glass; metal; varnish; pigment
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
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