Page 174 - Loss of the VOC Retourschip Batavia, Western Australia, 1629
P. 174
WEIGHTS Ntirnberg nest weight
BAT 3219
W
~
..a....::::J
w·
··~i
......•: ",1'
',' ,:"
tJJ
....•; ..
Nest of weights consisting of eight weights fitting inside each other and then set in further cup with a lid. Measurements indicate that the weights make up an Avoirdupois pound. The sixth nested weight was 28.29 grms which is one ounce Avoirdupois (the exact value is 28.3495 grms). The nest makes up a total of 1 pound: the two smallest weights which are about equal weigh 1.6 grams (about 1 dram Avoirdupois); the fIrst fIve weights thus make an ounce (1+1+2+4+8=16) as there are 16 drams in an Avoir- dU]Xlis ounce; the remaining four weights make 15 ounces (1+2+4+8) which, together with the first five weights, makea total of 16 ounces or I pound. A fleur-de-lis is stamped in the base of the cup of each weight and also on the top of the smallest weight and on the lid of the box. The box had a complicated locking or catch mechanism which held the lid in place; in this case, the corrosion of the metal makes it difficult to determine how, exactly, this worked. Nested weights such as these are known to have been made in N(jrnberg and are often referred-to as Ntirnberg weights.
164
