divination compass

Divining compass, luopan for fengshui. Light brown lacquered wooden disc with a glass-covered magnetic compass in the centre. The top surface is inscribed with 21 rings of Chinese texts. The eight trigrams occupy the innermost ring of the compass. On the back of the compass are details of the maker's name and the place of origin: Yuan shan-shi, Wang Yang-xi from Anhui, or Xin-an, province.

See Feuchtwang, Stephan, 1974. An anthropological analysis of Chinese geomancy. Vientiane: Editions Vithagna. Part Two of the book, entitled 'The indigenous model', explains the significance of the several rings and the symbols in them.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
nn3817
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 25 mm x 250 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
wood; glass; lacquer
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
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Collection Information

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