Weights Antique - Laos - 1850-1900, 1800-1850

The objects shown are antique Burmese opium weights, made of bronze, in the shape of the mythical Hintha bird (or Hamsa—the Brahman duck). This type of traditional trade weights was used in Burma (present-day Myanmar) to weigh precious goods such as silver, gold, and spices—and later by Western traders associated with opium—on scales.