Portable diptych dial for sun and moondial, of varnished wood with brass fittings. Rectangular box form with two leaves, connected with string when unfolded. The cover leaf is inscribed with the Chinese characters for moon dial on top, with 'everlasting sun and moon' at the bottom'. Between them is a revolving lunar volvelle marked in black ink with 30 days and twelve shichen, a unit of two hours. The inside of the cover leaf features a vertical dial, marked with six shichen in Chinese script, with 'combine harmoniously' inscribed above. The inside of the bottom leaf displays a horizontal dial and is set with a metal compass with a glass cover. Around the compass are red and black markings in Chinese script for North, South, East and West. Seven 'shichen' and 'sundial' are marked on the bottom. Marked on both sides of the bottom leaf are 24 solar terms, or jieqi. The underside has Chinese instructions of how to use this combined sundial and moon dial, followed by the maker's name and the place where he came from: Fang Ren-yuan from Xiu-Li county in Anhui, now Xin-an, province.
portable diptych dial
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The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive.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