Portable Hemispherical Sundial

The angbuilgu was the sundial first made during the reign of King Sejong of Joseon and continued to be produced until the end of the dynasty; it is the most common and representative sundial of the period. It was widely used in palaces, government offices and sometimes even in the homes of the yangban aristocracy, and can be divided into two types: those installed in gardens to tell the time, and portable ones. Garden sundials were generally placed on a stand and made mostly of bronze or carved stone, though porcelain examples also exist; they were usually finely and elegantly made, and were often set upon a carved stone base. Portable sundials come in two kinds: a simple type with a hemispherical concave surface and a gnomon set at its centre, and a more precise type fitted with a magnetic needle so that it could be aligned exactly north–south before the time was read. This Portable Hemispherical Sundial is made of stone, 5.6 cm long, 3.3 cm wide and 1.6 cm thick, and is calibrated to the latitude of Seoul. It also bears the maker's name and the date of manufacture (1871), which adds to its scholarly value as a sundial. The hemispherical dial face is 2.8 cm in diameter, and the compass is 1.9 cm in diameter, with the characters for the twenty-four directions engraved around it. Daytime hours and hour lines are engraved on it, along with the twenty-four solar terms and their corresponding lines. Portable sundials of this kind are extremely rare examples of fine craftsmanship, and this one is a valuable record demonstrating the precision and excellence of Joseon-period scientific instrument-making.

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Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물