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Start Over Object class Balances (scales) Collector Niloufer Hirschmann Ichaporia
Hearst Museum object titled Balance, accession number 9-13632a-c, described as Balance; a) beam, wood, brass inlaid markings, 51 cm long; b) iron weight, 4.75cm; c) bamboo basket pan, 21cm across narrow end.
Hearst Museum object titled Balance, accession number 9-13631a,b, described as Balance; a - beam, wood, 95.5 cm long; metal inlaid markings; b - copper pan, diam. 19.5 cm China, Hong Kong, New Territories Wood, iron, leather, cotton, copper made by men. Still used as legal weighing device. Pan supplied seems disproportionately small. In villages this size would be kept by village elders for apportioning harvests. Weighs up to 100 catties. Purchased in curio/second hand shop.
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 Often used with red beans, lal val, as a unit of measurement, or tola weights, now superceded by grams, the legal unit of measurement, the metric system.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.
Hearst Museum object titled Scale part, accession number 9-13630a-c, described as Balance; a - beam, ivory, 27 cm long; b - brass pan, diam. 13.5; c - weight, brass, 2 cm x 1.5 cm; two red tassels. China, Hong Kong, "New Territories" Native name: Cheng - balance Ivory, brass, silk, cotton For weighing small amounts (ounces or taels). Brass weight is moved along marked beam. Made by men - not a hereditary craft. Beam is marked with the letters "OZ". Possibly including western weighing systems combining taels and ounces. Purchased in curio / second hand shop.
Hearst Museum object titled Scale part, accession number 9-13633a-c, described as Balance; a - beam, wood, brass trim and inlay, 67 cm long; b - brass weight, diam 4.5 cm; stainless steel pan, diam. 20.5 cm China, Hong Kong, Kowloon Native name: Cheng - scale Blackwood, brass, iron, cotton, nylon For commercial use in any business. Two cord loops for suspension. For weighing up to eight catties (one catty is a little more than a pound); marks on top weigh taels (sixteen in one catty) and fractions thereof. Marks on the side weigh catties.
Hearst Museum object titled Scale part, accession number 9-13629a-d, described as Balance; a - beam ivory, 32 cm long; b - pan, brass, diam. 6.5 cm; c - weight, brass, 2.5 cm; d - case, bamboo, fiddle shape, some worm damage, 35 cm long; two red tassels. China, Hong Kong ("allegedly picked up in New Territories") native name: Ten-ping - balance; Lie-tang - 1/100 tael scale Materials: Ivory, brass, silk, cotton, bamboo For weighing small amounts of jewelry, drugs, etc. Weight is slid along marked bean, each dot signifying a unit. Red tassels affect balance as well. Made by men - not a hereditary craft. Unity of measure is 1/100 tael; usually go up to 8 taels or 1/2 a catty - slightly more than 8 ounces. Purchased in curio/second hand shop.

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