String-gnomon dial for latitude 35° North. There is a decorated brass bubble level set at the South end of the base. The dial itself has an hour-circle numbered in Chinese. A compass is set into the centre of the dial and surrounded by a brass ring set with paste of different colours. The compass is white enamel with the cardinal points labelled in red. There is a 16-point compass rose in black and white. The compass can be lifted out and is rotatable to allow for magnetic variation. At the North end of the dial-plate is a hinged gnomon support. This is intricately shaped and pierced for the plumb bob. The plumb line passes through a hole in a horizontal brace set across the support. The string gnomon is attached between the gnomon support and the dial-plate and set for latitude 40°, but there are also holes for 35° and 45°.

Like AST0528, this dial shows clear Jesuit influence. In particular, the compass has a 16-point rose: 16 was a standard division in the West but not used by the Chinese, who favoured the 24 divisions of the feng-shui (geomantic) compass. The dial is said to have been made at Canton for the Dutch East India Company, probably by a Chinese maker following Western designs. The style appears to have been fairly common and is demonstrated by instruments in the Whipple Museum (accession no. Wh: 0192) and the MHS, Oxford (new inventory no. 38711).

For more information regarding this dial please refer to the OUP & NMM catalogue, 'Sundials at Greenwich'.