A Chinese compass consisting of a bowl covered with glass and containing a dry-pivot needle, with the north-south direction indicated by a of metal wire over the glass. The character indicating South is red, all other characters are black.

Not all the characters in the lid of the compass are visible due to the deterioration of the lacquer. The five Chinese characters in black on the lower left corner read, 'Gu Su Cao Wan Chang'. Gusu is an alternative name of Wu Xian (Wu County) of Jiangsu Province. Cao Wanchang is probably the name of the maker. On the reverse side of the lid are two Chinese characters in black which read, 'Sa Jiu', meaning 39. On the bottom of the compass box are eight characters in black. They read, 'Jin Chang Nei Shui / Guan Qiao Xia Tang'. Jinchang stands for Wu Xian (Wu County) of Jiangsu Province. Neishui, Guangqiao, and Xiatang are probably place names.