393, Lot: 857. Estimate $200. Sold for $220. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Lot of six weights. Near Eastern, circa 15th-9th centuries BC. A group of mostly hematite weights. Two sphendoid pieces appear to adhere to the Babylonian standard, while the others are not as clear (12-32mm; 4.99-15.97g). Significant loss of material on two weights, remainder in good condition. A good lot for the research-oriented collector.

From the Herbert B. Stearns Collection.

Unmarked weights of similar shape were made throughout the Fertile Crescent over an extensive period and adhere to a variety of different standards. Weight standards may have even varied from city to city, rather than simply by region, and, to compound the problem faced by modern students of ancient metrology, there were equivalents between weight standards. For discussion of the complex interplay of systems, see Hendin, Ancient Scale Weights (New York, 2007), pp. 64ff.