An authentic Byzantine antiquity, a bronze balance scale, seamlessly integrated with a minimalist, contemporary display.
The Commercial Steelyard Balance:
The centrepiece of this ensemble is an ancient bronze steelyard balance beam measuring 21cm in length. Exhibiting an exceptional, authentic aged olive-green patina, the beam retains its original suspension loops and a spherical counterweight. To elevate its presentation, the scale is professionally mounted onto a modern ebonised block base with a slender matte-black display armature, transforming a historical merchant's tool into a striking piece of sculptural home art. Steelyard balances operate on the principle of a shifting centre of gravity. The commodity to be weighed would move along the longer, graduated arm until the beam balanced horizontally. These were the standard commercial instruments of merchants, tax collectors, and apothecaries across the Eastern Mediterranean.
An exceptional acquisition for connoisseurs of ancient history, early medical science, or anyone looking to infuse an elegant modern interior with a tangible piece of antiquity.
Period: Byzantine Empire, c. 5th – 8th Century AD
Scale Dimensions: Length: 21cm (Presented on a custom contemporary ebonised base)
Material: Cast and hand-worked Bronze
Condition: Excellent archaeological state, showing typical surface pitting and an untouched, authentic historical patina. Fully stable.
The Byzantine steelyard balance would have been used for weighing high-value, compact goods during trade, commerce, and official transactions in the Byzantine marketplace, unlike large-scale platform balances or simple beam balances, the steelyard design was a marvel of portability and precision. Merchants, money changers, and officials used small-to-medium steelyards to weigh gold and silver bullion, metal scraps, or currency lots, ensuring transactions were fair and accurate. It was ideal for weighing expensive, low-bulk goods such as spices, silk, fine dyes, incense, and apothecary medicines. Byzantine authorities and market inspectors used portable balances like this to collect taxes-in-kind or verify that merchants weren't short-changing customers in local bazaars. The notches and lines carved into the beam indicated the weight measurement based on where the counterweight rested.
This item is offered as a collectible item with no present day use.
