Scale

Museum number:
9-21344a-c
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm210921344a@2dc
Alternate number:
VII-4 (original number)
Accession number:
Acc.4697
Description:
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.
Donor:
Ilse Martin Fang
Collection place:
Beijing, Beijing municipality, Northern China
Verbatim coll. place:
Manchu (Qing) Dynasty. 1644-1911. Purchased in Peking fat flea-market.
Culture or time period:
Manchu people and Qing dynasty (1644–1912 AD)
Collector:
Ilse Martin Fang
Collection date:
1943
Materials:
Brass (alloy), Copper (metal), Ivory (material), Silk, and Tooth (material)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Balances (scales)
Function:
7.3 Weights, Measures, and Computing Devices
Production date:
Manchu (Qing) Dynasty
Accession date:
December 15, 1998
Context of use:
To be worn in boot shaft to weigh silver ingot.
Department:
Asia (except western Russia)
Dimensions:
Case— length 29 centimeters, Beam— length 25 centimeters, Bowl— width 6 centimeters, and Case— width 7 centimeters
Images:
Hearst Museum object 1 of 3 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 2 of 3 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 3 of 3 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.

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