Object name: Scale / Collection place: Asia / Collector: Niloufer Hirschmann Ichaporia - Hearst Museum Portal Search Results

Start Over Object name Scale Collection place Asia Collector Niloufer Hirschmann Ichaporia

Hearst Museum object titled Scale, accession number 9-12115, described as Balance; jeweller’s; iron handle and beam with a circular, bowl-like brass pan suspended by 3 iron chains from each end; formerly ysed by jewellers for weighing out small items. Often used with red beans, lal val, as a unit of measurement, or tola weights, now superceded by grams, the legal unit of measurement, the metric system. This specimen was sold by a Hindu dealer in Parsi metal goods after much persuasion, since its use is allegedly illegal, rendering possessors of old balances and weights subject to prosecution.