Compass

Museum number:
9-21418
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21090021418
Alternate number:
VII-9 (original number)
Accession number:
Acc.4697
Description:
Compass. Wooden disc with rounded back to fit into the well of a square, wooden board. Red thread fastened to one corner to align indicators on the compass. Hole in board center to lift compass. Radiating from compass: the eight trigrams; eight cyclical signs alternating with constellations; the beginning characters of the “Book of Changes” and signs of constellations; combinations of the twelve celestial stems and the ten earthen branches; the five elements, dates, etc. Disc rotates in board. Characters on it in red and black. Diameter: 20.4 cm; board: 23 cm square; height: 2.5 cm.
Donor:
Ilse Martin Fang
Collection place:
Beijing, Beijing municipality, Northern China
Verbatim coll. place:
Manchu (Qing) Dynasty. 1644-1911. Purchased in Peking 1942.
Culture or time period:
Manchu people and Qing dynasty (1644–1912 AD)
Collector:
Ilse Martin Fang
Collection date:
1942
Materials:
Wood (plant material)
Object type:
ethnography
Function:
7.3 Weights, Measures, and Computing Devices
Production date:
Manchu (Qing) Dynasty
Accession date:
December 15, 1998
Context of use:
For soothsaying and feng-shui determination.
Department:
Asia (except western Russia)
Dimensions:
Board— height 23 centimeters, Board— width 2.5 centimeters, Disc (diameter)— diameter 20.4 centimeters, and Board— length 23 centimeters
Images:
Hearst Museum object 1 of 2 titled Compass, accession number 9-21418, described as Compass. Wooden disc with rounded back to fit into the well of a square, wooden board. Red thread fastened to one corner to align indicators on the compass. Hole in board center to lift compass. Radiating from compass: the eight trigrams; eight cyclical signs alternating with constellations; the beginning characters of the “Book of Changes” and signs of constellations; combinations of the twelve celestial stems and the ten earthen branches; the five elements, dates, etc. Disc rotates in board. Characters on it in red and black. Diameter: 20.4 cm; board: 23 cm square; height: 2.5 cm.Hearst Museum object 2 of 2 titled Compass, accession number 9-21418, described as Compass. Wooden disc with rounded back to fit into the well of a square, wooden board. Red thread fastened to one corner to align indicators on the compass. Hole in board center to lift compass. Radiating from compass: the eight trigrams; eight cyclical signs alternating with constellations; the beginning characters of the “Book of Changes” and signs of constellations; combinations of the twelve celestial stems and the ten earthen branches; the five elements, dates, etc. Disc rotates in board. Characters on it in red and black. Diameter: 20.4 cm; board: 23 cm square; height: 2.5 cm.

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