Weighing scale "steelyard"
Wrought iron balance,
Italy first half of 1900
This particular scale is also called steelyard
or Roman balance and exploits the principle of the lever
to determine the weight of an object.
The hook at the top acts as a fulcrum,
the goods to be weighed are hung on the chains or on the hook at the bottom
therefore by moving the weight along the rod, one tries to find the equilibrium point.
The value indicated on the auction notch will be the weight of our object.
In this specific balance we have the possibility to invert
the fulcrum and the hooks so as to obtain two different weighing scales:
one starting from 15 kg and reaching 60 kg, the other from 55 kg up to 180 kg
The object was purchased in a ham factory and
it was used to weigh both the pork half-carcase
and also cured hams
In excellent condition, also ideal as a decorative object