Chinese mariner's compass in wood case with south ideograph marked in red

Made:
1825-1875 in China
Chinese mariner's compass, 1825-1875, China Chinese mariner's compass, 1825-1875, China

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

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Chinese mariner's compass, 1825-1875, China
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Chinese mariner's compass, 1825-1875, China
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Chinese mariner's compass in wood case with south ideograph marked in red, unsigned, China, 1825-1875

The first Chinese record of a mariner's compass dates from the 12th century, some 100 years before its introduction in the Mediterranean. Though a knowledge of magnetism in China is supposed to date back to early times, the compass was never highly developed in China, and simple compasses like this one were still in use aboard junks well into the 20th century.

Details

Category:
Navigation
Object Number:
1873-25
Materials:
wood (unidentified), glass, metal (unknown) and paint
Measurements:
overall: 70 mm, 95 mm, .31kg
type:
mariner's compass
credit:
Cuthill, W.

Parts

Chinese mariner's compass with south ideograph marked in red

Chinese mariner's compass with south ideograph marked in red

Chinese mariner's compass with south ideograph marked in red, unsigned, China, 1825-1875

Measurements:
overall: 70 mm x 95 mm .31 kg
Materials:
wood (unidentified) and glass
Object Number:
1873-25/1
type:
mariner's compass
Wooden case for Chinese mariner's compass

Wooden case for Chinese mariner's compass

Wooden case for Chinese mariner's compass, China, 1825-1875

Object Number:
1873-25/2
type:
case - container