A stamp engraved by an artist called Martin Mörck, a Norwegian whose work has generated a lot of interest over the years and the fan-blog below which gave me the explanation for this particular example. This stamp showcases the compass, and is taknen from a map from 1769. Compasses first appeared in China in the Han Dynasty (from 200BC) but becamse more common there in the 11th century and then among European navigators in the 12th century. The compass is regarded as one of the Four Great Inventions of ancient China, alongside gunpowder, paper and printing.
https://martinmorck.blogspot.com/2020/06/sweden-1978-north-arrow.html
