ANTIQUE BRONZE OPIUM WEIGHT HINTHA – 5 TICAL - BURMA - 19^th C.

This antique opium weight originates from Burma.

This antique opium weight depicts the hintha and is dated from the 19th C. The wings are concave unlike the earlier examples which are convex. The eyes are very prominent. Less attention has been paid to the tail feathers than in earlier examples. The feet are large and there is a prop of metal supporting the tail. The bird is standing on a hexagonal base, bearing on the side the 6-ray star mark. His weight is 5 tical.

Opium weights were used with a two scales balance from the 14th to the 19th century by the mountain peoples of the Golden Triangle (Thailand, Laos and Burma) and Cambodia to weigh goods. Certainly these mountain tribes used the smallest ones for weighting opium, although they were made for the daily items of commerce found in the market-place. All types of food, raw materials and metals, both ordinary and precious (including silver lingots, pearls, precious stones and so on) were sold in quantities determined by these weights. They take their name from the fact that they became known in the West through the opium trade. British traders spoke of "opium weights" but they were used for weighing all kinds of things. When the British occupied Burma in 1885, they introduced round and flat iron weights and from that time officially no more bronze weights were cast. Unofficially, the production of animal-shaped brass weights was continued and this even survived into the 20th century.

The weights were cast using a mould from bronze (an alloy of copper and tin or lead), copper, iron or lead (and extreme rarely gold). Occasionally weights were cast in what is known as "silver bronze" and such weights when polished show a bright silver colour, but these contain still mainly copper and very little silver. The base unit of the weight system was the kyat or tical (approx. 16 grams). Weights usually weigh 1/10 kyat (about 1.6 g), 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1 tical, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 50 tical, 1 viss (100 tical, about 1.6 kg), 2.5, 5 and 10 viss (1000 tical, about 16 kg). Laos used the base unit called tamlung (about 60 g). For easier lifting many weights from 20 tical and more had been provided with a handle attached to the head and tail of the weight. Weights have been found that do not fit in any weight system. Speculation have been made that different weights were used by less honourable merchants for the purchase and sale of goods.

The weights were usually in the form of animal figures standing on a pedestal. The base may be circular, rectangular, hexagonal or octagonal. Most opium weights originate from either Burma or Thailand. The Burmese weights were mostly based on the hintha (or Brahmani duck and hamsa, a mythical chicken-like bird), the chinthe (a mythical animal that is part lion and part dragon; however in most opium weights the beast looks predominantly leonine), the karaweik (Burmese crane) and the toe (horned lion, a fabulous animal having he face of a lion, horns, and the hooves and tail of a horse), but other more rare weights in different shapes also occur. Thai weights commonly employed an elephant.

In major centres, opium weights were manufactured in dedicated workshops under government supervision, and these checked, calibrated and legalised the weights by a stamp or seal given by the king or his officials in each important town. A popular nineteenth century seal was in the form of a star flower with four to nine petals. In the rural areas, local metalworkers commonly made unofficial copies of weights as required by local traders, and these products were often rather crude, lacked any official mark and furthermore had the mass adjusted by shortening the bird's beak.

Because of their popularity fakes and reproductions of opium weights are today widely sold.

Sold with mirror glass.

Age: 19^th C.

Size: 4.2 cm high, bottom diameter 2.9 cm.

Weight: 80 gr. (5 tical)

Condition: This weight is in good condition taking into account its high age. Very good signs of long time use and high age patina. Look carefully to the pictures, which are an integral part of the description. Consequently any damage or repair to the object not mentioned in the text, but visible in the photos, are considered to be described.

The description and explanation of the item have been made in good faith and to the best of my knowledge. The dimensions are measured manually and are therefore approximate. Colors may differ slightly from the original colors. This is a private sale as I am not a professional seller; I am a collector who liquidates his collection. Therefore, I do not accept returns unless in very exceptional cases. In any case, the return costs are to be paid by the buyer. I hope you will understand this. Please don’t hesitate to request before purchasing all information you need. Your satisfaction and positive feedback is very important to me. If you have any problems with the item or services, please feel free to contact me first before you leave negative feedback. I will do my best to solve any problems.

By purchasing this item, the buyers expressly declare that they are fully aware of the regulations and laws of their own country regarding the import of the purchased goods and that the seller cannot be held responsible for any costs or for any problems that may arise in their own country such as for example, the payment of taxes and duties, or the seizure or even the destruction by the customs or other authorities.

Combined shipping: If you would like to buy several objects at the same time, combined shipping is possible if those objects can easily be stored in the same package. In principle the shipping costs will only be charged once.