Description: Two geomancer's compasses constructed of turned wood bowls each holding a small compass needle under glass in its center, each hand scribed lines, the smaller with red and black characters.

History: The first incontestable reference to a magnetized needle in Chinese literature appears in 1088. The Dream Pool Essays, written by the Song Dynasty polymath scientist Shen Kuo, contained a detailed description of how geomancers magnetized a needle by rubbing its tip with lodestone, and hung the magnetic needle with one single strain of silk with a bit of wax attached to the center of the needle. Shen Kuo pointed out that a needle prepared this way sometimes pointed south, sometimes north. The earliest explicit recorded use of a magnetic compass for maritime navigation is found in Zhu Yu's book Pingchow Table Talks,(Pingzhou Ketan) and dates from 1111 to 1117. The ship's pilots are acquainted with the configuration of the coasts; at night they steer by the stars, and in the daytime by the sun. In dark weather they look at the south pointing needle.

Provenance: N/A

Dimensions: Weight (Pounds & Ounces) = 0.4 | Height(in) = 2 | Width(in) = 5.5 | Depth(in) = 5.5

Size of Artwork(in): Largest 5.5" diameter and 3.5" diam.

Artist Name: Chinese

Medium: Wood

Circa: 19th C

Both very good with only minor finish loss.