The cushioned, fabric box contains 2 metal objects: a metal spoon and a square base. The label on the outside of the box reads 漢代司南模型.:

漢代司南模型. 中國四大發明之一. 中國歷史博物館監製; 鋼鐵研究縂院製造. Made by the Central Iron and Steel Research Institute, Ministry of Metallurgy, supervised by the Museum of Chinese History.

The cushioned, fabric box contains 2 metal objects and 1 set of paper instructions and descriptions. The label on the outside of the box reads 正方案模型.

正方案模型: 中国古代测影定向仪. 北京古观象台监制; 钢铁研究总院制造. Made by the Central Iron and Steel Research Institute, Ministry of Metallurgy.

The cushioned, fabric box contains 2 metal objects (a metal spoon and a square base) and 1 paper fold-out information sheet in Chinese and English.

The label on the outside of the box reads 漢代司南模型.

漢代司南模型: 中國四大發明之一. 中國歷史博物館監製; 鋼鐵研究縂院製造. Made by the Central Iron and Steel Research Institute, Ministry of Metallurgy, supervised by the Museum of Chinese History.

One object is old and one is new.

The maker’s mark on the base reads: 寧契君泰維記造.
Bought by Joseph Needham in Shanghai in 1946. An image of the compass is reproduced in SCC Vol. 4 Part 1, fig. 338.

On the inside of the box lid is a maker’s label, with a round seal stamp [illegible] in red ink and a black seal with the characters 長[ ]:

[ ]は東の町 大徳寺[ ] [ ].

These are objects collected by, given to, or worn by Joseph Needham, Dorothy Needham and Lu Gwei-Djen. Objects given to the Needham Research Institute are catalogued as NRI 1

These are objects collected by, given to, or worn by Joseph Needham, Dorothy Needham and Lu Gwei-Djen. Objects given to the Needham Research Institute are catalogued as NRI 1