1971.15.523.10

Collection type

Object

Description

A flat-based pear-shaped jeweller's weight made of carnelian.

Geographical reference

India

Asia > Southern Asia > India

Sudan, Republic of

Africa > Northern Africa > Sudan, Republic of

Egypt

Africa > Northern Africa > Egypt

Person

Field collector Anthony John Arkell

PRM source Anthony John Arkell

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1948

Date collected

By 1948

Acquisition information

Donated: 26/10/1971

Materials and processes

Material Cornelian Stone

Dimensions

Length: max 3 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1971.15.523.10

Research and responses

According to Dr. R. J. Willis: "It is difficult to assess their age, as at best one can say they are pre-1948.   As far as the mass unit is concerned, there are two prime possibilities.  The first is the "mithqaal" which, as used in India, was equal to 4.25 g when weighing gold, or 4.5 g when weighing "commodities"; thus the largest weight could be 5 mithqaal.  The second possibility is that the weights are in "tank".  The tank was a Mughal unit of weight used largely for weighing gems, and in much of the Mughal literature one may find the weight of diamonds and rubies expressed in tank.  The exact mass of a tank is difficult to pin down, and seems to vary considerably from place to place, and era to era.  At the time of Akbar (r. 1556-1605), the tank was defined as about 4.2 g.  In the 19th C the tank is sometimes given as about 4.42 g, and in 1858 James Prinsep (Essays on Indian Antiquities) gave the mass of the tank as used in Calcutta as about 4.67 g.  The weights held by the Pitt Rivers Museum may be weights in approximated tank units, ranging from 5 tank downward.  The subdivision of the tank beyond 1/4 tank may be complex, and may involve the rati unit" [FB 10/3/2020]

Search terms: Measurement, Trade, Bead, Weight