The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 17, 2025

Balance Weight formed as the Bust of an Empress

c. 390–400

Byzantium, Theodosian period, 4th century

bronze
Overall: 10.1 x 5.4 x 5.6 cm (4 x 2 1/8 x 2 3/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1967.28
Location: Not on view

Description

Among the most striking Byzantine weights to have survived are the imperial weights issued in the late 4th and 5th centuries. Typically they depict the same royal figures seen on coins to promote the legitimacy and stability of the state and to guarantee their validity as "honest weights." Used on balance scales, the weights were sometimes filled with lead to make them heavier.
  • (J. J. Klejman, New York).
  • “Year in Review.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 54, no. 10 (December 1967): 302–346. Reproduced: p. 304; Mentioned: p. 342, no. 27 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 36 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 35 archive.org
  • Year in Review: 1967. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 29-December 31, 1967).
  • {{cite web|title=Balance Weight formed as the Bust of an Empress|url=false|author=|year=c. 390–400|access-date=17 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1967.28