Object name: Measuring stick / Object type: ethnography / Donor: Bancroft Library (UC Berkeley) - Hearst Museum Portal Search Results

Start Over Object name Measuring stick Object type ethnography Donor Bancroft Library (UC Berkeley)

Hearst Museum object titled Measuring stick, accession number 3-27340, described as Measuring stick (vara stick); carved rectangular section of wood broken and mended w/screws; pyroengraved (branded) "A M" in circle at both ends of both sides; length 83.cm. Native name and meaning: vara. Context of use: measure, cf. 3-27338-39; This example formerly used in a drygoods store. The mark "A M" probably stands for Administracion Mercantil, and is placed on both sides in such a way to show if any length has been fraudulently shaved from the ends.

Hearst Museum object titled Measuring stick, accession number 3-27339, described as Measuring stick; carved rectangular section of hard, heavy wood; length. 83.8 cm. Context of use: Used to measure cloth; formerly used as a land measure but replaced by the meter "some 50 years ago"(1890?). Purchased from a young weaver (Jose Martinez), apparently Zapotec.