Copper alloy (bronze or brass)

Cast

Square

2.86 cm (1.125 inch)

2.38 cm (0.9375 inch)

0.48 cm (0.1875 inch)

Mass (g)	Mass (grain)	Date of measurement	Reference	fragmented	cleaned	reference weight
317.51	4900.0006	-	www.getty.edu	No	No	Yes

Symbol	Technique	Direction	Position	Number	Synecdoche
Volute krater	Relief

A volute-krater in high relief decorates one side of this Greek bronze weight designed for use with a simple balance scale. The other sides of the small plaque are plain, except for the underside, which was hollowed out either to lighten the weight or for the addition of a lead filling. The commercial weights used by merchants and shopkeepers of this period were usually made from lead, so this bronze example probably had some sort of official status, serving as a standard against which other weights could be checked. Like coins, most Greek weights had a symbol on one side to easily identify their value. The symbol of a volute-krater appears on the reverse of silver stater coins from the city of Thebes in central Greece. Since the coins and the official weights of a city both originated at the same mint and often used the same emblems, this weight probably comes from Thebes.

No

Language	Technique	Legend type

GREEK

FROM -500 TO -300

Fourth quarter of 5th century B.C

Name	Date of acquisition	Inventory number
Fleischman Collection	Jan. 1, 1992	F299
Getty Museum – Getty Villa (Malibu)	Jan. 1, 1996	96.AC.84

Reference	Page/Column	Reference (number)	Plate / Figure	Comment
True and Hamma 1994	71	26
Getty Museum 1997–98	64

Mint: Myrina? or Thebes?

http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/29532/unknown-maker-weight-with-volute-krater-greek-fourth-quarter-of-5th-century-bc/