Chinese Gold Scale
date: label: date made
content: 1840 - 1860
notes: label: Description
content: This portable scale was made by Chen Shengtai in Guangdong Province, China, during the mid-1800s. The California gold rush prompted thousands of Chinese laborers to seek their fortune, and many brought their own weights and scales with them. This scale is a steelyard-type balance that uses a pivot point and counterweight moved along the arm on the arm to weigh the substance on the pan. It consists of a rod marked with several weight points, several pivot points to hold on to, a counterweight to move along the rod, and a pan attached to the rod with four strings. The scale could be disassembled and stored inside a small, wooden, paddle-shaped case.
place: label: place made
content: China
label: location where used
content: United States: California
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Occupations
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content: Cultures & Communities
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content: Work
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content: American Enterprise
label: Exhibition
content: American Enterprise
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: CL.65.1373
label: accession number
content: 280280
label: catalog number
content: 65.1373
objectType: label: Object Name
content: scale, gold
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: fiber (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ink (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ivory (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall-case: 15 in x 3 in x 1 1/4 in; 38.1 cm x 7.62 cm x 3.175 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall-scale: 14 in x 1/4 in; 35.56 cm x .635 cm