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Requires Photography
Weight
Near Eastern, Mesopotamian, Babylonian
Old Babylonian Period (?)
1894–1595 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Hematite
Dimensions
Overall: 8 x 10 cm, 1.1 kg (3 1/8 x 3 15/16 in., 2.3 lb.)
Credit Line
Florence E. and Horace L. Mayer Fund
Accession Number1997.190
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsTools and equipment – Weights and measures
DescriptionBalance weight in the form of a resting duck with back-turned head. Almost certainly part of the same set as 1997.16a-f. For unknown reasons, scale weights in ancient Mesopotamia were usually carved in the form of ducks with back-turned heads.
Provenance1997, sold by Emmanuel Tiliakos, Alexander Fine Art, Winchester, MA, to the MFA. (Accession Date: November 19, 1997)