Object class: Scales (weighing devices) / Collection place: Asia / Culture or time period: Chinese - Hearst Museum Portal Search Results

Start Over Object class Scales (weighing devices) Collection place Asia Culture or time period Chinese

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 9-21344a-c, described as Pair of scales in wood case. Brass weight (c) hanging by green silk cord from calibrated ivory or walrus-tooth beam. Bowl (a) of the same metal for pinched-off silver. Beam (also a) to be held by one of three green silk threads, according to weight of silver. Center thread with red tassel. Closure of wood case (b) with copper(?) latch; rivet also copper(?). Length of beam: 25 cm; width of bowl: 6 cm; length of case: 29 cm; greatest width: 7 cm.

Hearst Museum object titled Scale, accession number 9-16326a-c, described as Scale (steelyard); a) beam: wood, brass inlaid calibrations, iron fittings copper sheathed, 67 cm. long. b) pan: galvanized iron, 25.5 cm. long, 22.5 cm. wide, 5 cm. deep. c) counterweight: cast iron, two Chinese ideograms, 4.75 cm. high, 5 cm. deep.