Balance Weight formed as the Bust of an Empress
Unknown Artist
c. 390–400
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
10.1 × 5.4 × 5.6 cm
Classification
Metalwork
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1967.28
About this artwork
Among the most striking Byzantine weights to have survived are the imperial weights issued in the late 4th and 5th centuries. Typically they depict the same royal figures seen on coins to promote the legitimacy and stability of the state and to guarantee their validity as "honest weights." Used on balance scales, the weights were sometimes filled with lead to make them heavier.