Set of 4 scales or balances: brass, olive wood, bone, nickel silver
Ottoman Empire, c. 1850-1900
3 hand-rockers in a cruciform shape; 1 of them with leather pouch
1 balance with rotating micrometer on beam
Partly fitted with maker’s name
All with grooves for testing different coins with appropriate numbers in Arabic (and Latin scripts)
Provenance: Private collection, Netherlands
Length: c. 9-11 cm
Very good condition

Hand-rockers were known to the ancient Egyptians and were made by the Romans in bronze (depicted in murals in Pompeii). They were used in Ottoman lands until the early 20th century. The present set includes four examples, manufactured in the Ottoman Empire between 1850 and 1900:



1 hand-rocker made of brass (91 mm); manufacturer: Garabed

1 hand-rocker made of olive wood (110 mm) with leather pouch; manufacturer: Traqçi Sherif

1 hand-rocker made of bone (112 mm); anonymous, numerals only in Arabic

1 balance made of nickel silver (100 mm), 1905; manufacturer: Dikran Solakian, serial no. 1005



Condition:

The pieces are all in very good condition with small traces of age and use. They measure between 9 and 11 cm in length. (cbo)



Literature:

Kürkman, Garo: Ottoman weights and measures, Istanbul 1991, p. 92-93.

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