Elephant opium weights were cast in northern Laos, and north-west Siam. It’s thought that elephant weights made their first appearance in Siam as early as 1581AD. By the 1800s a variety of animal weights were in use and even traded as currency and include birds, snakes, buffalo, rabbits, dogs, horses and monkeys.
It is agreed that the animal weights of Laos and Siam were generally much less accurate than the Burmese opium weights and were sometimes adjusted by removing a small nugget of bronze from the base when the mass scale changed.
Characteristics
Height: 3cm, 1.2 in
Base: 2.4cm, 1 in
Weight: 56 grams
Period: Early-Mid 19th C
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