A Beam scale ... and a question on the date

[fernando]

Just another (very) old beam (Roman?) type scale. With a reasonable dimension, with its 70 cms. length.
Just bought in a local flea market; only later noticed one of the hooks is incomplete. Still the price covers the gap, though.
My question goes for the date in gold (?) figures. I can go as far as 17?5. Anyone to bet on the whole date ? Could it be 1745 ?
I would appreciate your Gentlemen's guess ... or certainty.


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[Lee]

Very, very nice.

Could it be the Islamic calendar (AH)? If it starts with '11' instead of '17' this is likely the case and would point to the 18th century (AD).

I also bought an old scale at a flea market this summer. It is of the 'steelyard' type with a brass pan and I am pretty sure it is from the sphere of Ottoman influence. Some parts are old and other parts are somewhat later.

Yours is nicer.

[fernando]

Thank you for your words and your perspective of the date, Lee. It instantly caught me as only plausible but then, after some reasoning, we would then have that, if it were a AH date, the digits were written in arabic, whereas the last one appears to be a strict 5 in the European manner, while not resembling any Arabic number. On the other hand, the third digit doesn't fit in either system, unless we admit a stylized trace, which i don't see in any number chart out there.
Eventualy in both cases the date would equally fall into the 18th century, which makes it plausible, but doesn't help to exclude one or another criteria.
I should add that, in the opposite side of the beam, there are traces of another golden inscription, only that they are too faded to make out anything of them.
I will have to take better pictures of the whole set; an existing far better texture should be shown. But for now i handed it over to a local (naval) smith, to rebuild the missing hook arm; hoping i will not regret the adventure.

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[fernando]

I took another set of pictures but the achievements were far from desired.
Nevertheless i may now show how the hook was restored, which i think was a rather nice work, much better than i expected. I am using domestic bleech to oxidize the small section of the welding, that had to be grinded; no big deal.
I am also showing a larger picture of the back face of the beam, where the other inscription remains unreadable.
One thing i ignore what it is for, is that wire loop in the center, under the pivot; could it be for transportation ? i doubt.


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[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Nice Scales... Often the Othmanli (Ottoman) scales have the Tugra of the Ottoman Empire stamped on them... The date of possibly 1795/1745 ??? is plausible.

Please note http://kurkman.com/images/Armenianobserver.jpg where by following the last papagraph a lead may be obtained in this interesting field..

SEE http://maviboncuk.blogspot.com/2008/...nd-scales.html

[fernando]

Thank you Ibrahiim.
Having bought this in a local flea market, i would hardly assume that this example is not Portuguese. Yes, the date must be around that; i just don't see a similar type of writing font out there.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

I agree ...Not Ottoman ...Portuguese; I think so.

The Ottomans were absolute sticklers for accurate scale measurements and had all scales stamped with the official Tughra as in this one below...and a set of scales with a similar stamp...

[fernando]

If scales are used with weights, those are in more need to be certified. I observe that, over here, we had the King's crest punched in weights, that were applied by the official of the Royal checking office.
I have this (rather) rustic weight, i think for flax weighing, originally forged in 1818, as may be read. Then at a later stage (1831?), either because weight standards criteria was altered or its mass was tampered with (the usual ancient cheating trick), its owner had to add some more iron to it, for a new certification.
In the first issue you may see the King's crest (Dom João VI). In the second check up, the mark is not so clear.

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