Nest of cup weights

Description

Nests such as this consist of cup shaped weights usually made of bronze or brass that fit inside one another. The largest weight is also a container and can be closed with a lid. For centuries in Basle there were five different pounds in use, each with a different weight: the apothecary's pound, the silver pound, the light and the heavy iron pound, and the brass pound. The weight of this set is 1925 g, i.e. four times the weight of a Basle brass pound (=480.23 g), and this is indicated by the figure 4 on the lid. The empty container at 963 g weighs exactly half as much, that is, 2 Basle brass pounds. The largest nesting cup is 480.75 g, one Basle brass pound. With each cup the weight reduces by half. Because the brass pound was calibrated by the Safranzunft (merchants' guild), on the bottom of the cup there is the lily of the Safranzunft alongside the impression of the Basle crosier. The brass pound was used by silk merchants, button makers and sellers of wool and sewing thread as well as confectioners and spice sellers.