Accession No
1043
Brief Description
Suanpan abacus, Chinese, 20th Century
Origin
China [attributed]
Maker
Class
mathematics; calculating
Earliest Date
1900
Latest Date
1950
Inscription Date
Material
wood (3 types)
Dimensions
length 170mm; breadth 101mm; thickness 15mm
Special Collection
Robert Whipple collection
Provenance
Donated by Robert S. Whipple, 1951. Purchased from the estate of T.H. Court, 1951.
Inscription
Description Notes
Suanpan (aka Suan Pan) abacus, Chinese, 20th C.
Wooden frame with horizontal division. 11 cane rods each carrying 5 beads below the division and 2 above.
Condition good (rack across base, warped); complete
References
Events
Description
Abacus
The abacus was used for calculations too complicated to be done in the head, as a quicker alternative to using a pencil and paper. The word abacus comes from the Greek word for flat surface and originally it was simply a surface for putting pebbles on. However, many different types have developed and many involve beads running along wires or grooves. All use the principle of different columns of counters representing different units or collections of units e.g. one column for hundreds, one for tens, one for units etc.
The abacus can be thought of as an early predecessor of today’s digital computers.
20/10/2002
Created by: Saffron Clackson on 20/10/2002
FM:40256
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