Sinbeop Jipyeongilgu(1985-2)

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.840

Category

Craft

Era

조선시대

Designated year

1985

Location

종로구, 서울특별시— 서울 종로구 효자로 12, 국립고궁박물관 (세종로,국립고궁박물관)

Coordinates

37.576571, 126.974851

This a sundial is made of black marble and has a 58.9 cm width, a 38.2 cm height and a 16.3 cm thickness. The principal of a sundial is simple: put a bar on the center of a sheet of graph paper on which concentric circles and radial lines are drawn at a one centimeter distance and at 10° respectively, and then one can tell the time by observing the movement of the shadow. This sundial is the same shape as would be made by unfolding the parts of a hemispherical sundial. According to the words inscribed on its side, it was made in the early 18th century. The time and seasonal lines drawn on the structure and the level are much like the Chinese instrument, so it is supposed that Gwansanggam (Bureau of Astronomy) modeled on it. Portable sundial is preserved in Seoul National University Museum, such as Sinbeob Horizontal Sundials. This brass sundial, measuring 16.8 cm by 12.4 cm, has a magnetic needle inside it, making it possible to measure the exact time by setting North and South.

Location