Angbuilgu Sundial (2002)

The angbuilgu is Joseon Korea's representative sundial, first devised during the reign of King Sejong of Joseon and afterwards produced in many different forms. This example, held by the Seoul Museum of History, is carved from a block of jade-like stone measuring 3.1 cm wide, 7.2 cm deep and 3.8 cm high, fitted with a small compass so that it could be carried and used conveniently as a portable instrument. The hemispherical sundial face has a diameter of 3 cm, and the compass has a diameter of 1.9 cm, with the twenty-four directions marked around it. Between the compass and the dial face is engraved the inscription "Angbuilgu" (仰釜日晷), and at the bottom of the dial plate is carved in seal script the phrase "the pole star's elevation is thirty-seven degrees, thirty-nine minutes and fifteen seconds" (北極高三十七度三十九分一十五秒), indicating that the sundial was calibrated to the latitude of Seoul. Inside the dial face are also engraved the hour-lines for the double-hours in (寅), myo (卯), jin (辰), sa (巳), o (午), mi (未), sin (申), yu (酉) and sul (戌), showing that the instrument could measure time from around 3 a.m. to 9 p.m. On both sides of the sundial the solar terms from the summer solstice (夏至) to the winter solstice (冬至) are marked, and on the underside are inscribed the date of manufacture, the second year of the Yunghui era (隆熙), and the maker's name, Gang Mun-su (姜文秀). The fine, precise engraving of the dial face, the vital element of any clock, demonstrates the excellence of Korean sundial-making technique, making this both a scientific artefact and a work of beauty as a piece of craftsmanship, with its maker and date of production, moreover, clearly known.

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Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산