Weight in the Shape of an Empress

For my object of power, I will be looking at a Byzantine weighing apparatus­– specifically, the bust weight suspended from the chain on the left side of the photo. This object was made in the 5^th-7^th century, probably for use in a marketplace to weigh commodities. It is essentially a balance, where an item could be hung from one side of the beam and the metal weight would be slid until the beam was level. Markings on the beam would indicate the weight of the item.

The element of power in this object is the shape of the weight. It is in the shape of an empress, depicted with a crown to signify her rank. Weights like these often took the form of rulers, gods, and heroes to signify imperial authority over the measurement system. What I found interesting about this object is that the empress is apparently no ruler in particular, she is just a generic symbol of royalty. I was previously under the impression that royalty depicted on Medieval objects were usually specific people. It seemed customary that rulers would arrange for themselves to be on things like coins so that their people would be constantly reminded of their greatness and power. This is not the case for this object. This empress weight acts as a reminder of the imperial class in general, not of the power of one specific figure. This tells us about the role of the royal in the Byzantine empire. Imperial rule permeated every aspect of life, all the way down to the system of measurement in the marketplace. Even small details of the Byzantine lifestyle required an imperial mark of approval. So depictions of a ruler were not necessarily made in the self-serving interest of glorification but also for the purpose of instilling in the people of the empire the notion of imperial authority.

I had never seen a Byzantine scale before, and seeing this one makes me curious about other ones that might survive. What do the god-shaped weights look like? Which heroes would be used for the weights? How do we identify the heroes? Who produced these, and how was it ensured that these weights would follow the imperial standard? There is still a lot to find out about this object and ones like it, and I am eager to see what it reveals about the Medieval ruler and Byzantine society.