Name/Title
Opium/pharmaceutical Scale BeamEntry/Object ID
2003.021.002 a-cDescription
Scale beam consisting of a) case, b) scale beam, c) poise.
b) Scale beam consists of a slender, slightly-tapered [ivory ?] rod marked in black with three different un-numbered scales. A brass pan is suspended at one end by four heavy black threads which are knotted through a hole in one beam end. Three tiny red-and-green silk tassels, each suspended by a heavy black thread, are spaced evenly along the beam area closest to the pan. a) Hand-carved, guitar-shaped, two-part bamboo case is hinged with a rivet at the narrow end and closed with a braided bamboo ring which slides along the shaft of the case. The interior is hollowed to accommodate the scale, pan and poise. A red paper label with black Chinese characters is affixed to the pan hollow.
c) The fancy-shaped brass poise has one incised Chinese character on one side and a stamped chop mark on the other. It is threaded with a fine black thread for suspension from the beam.Acquisition
Source (if not Accessioned)
Hollins, RayNotes
Accession Date: 26-Nov-03
Mode of Acquisition: giftLexicon
Legacy Lexicon
Object Name
scalebeam, opium/pharmaceutical scalebeamCreated By
Falk, MCreate Date
December 3, 2003Update Date
May 15, 2025