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Opium Weight 5 Tical 16thC Bird EOW89

From Mandalay, Burma, this opium weight is one of the most prized in the gallery.  This particular style of duck is distinguished by the rare trefoil mouth appendage, circular front depression (faint) as the main sign with an auxiliary sign in the form of a 5 ray star, still clearly visible.  The head crest and wings are marked by distinct lines.

This is the first opium weight of its kind we have come across in over a decade of collecting weights. *Gear: Group 4 Ia, 1595-1626, Mollat: H2A, c.1680

Characteristics

Weight: 5 kyat/tical, 80 grams, kyat mass: 16g
Height: 3cm, 1.18 in
Base: 2.8cm, 1.1 in
Base plan: Octagonal
Sign: Front Circular Depression, Auxiliary 5 star rays
Period:  *Gear: Group 4 Ia, 1595-1626, Mollat: H2A, c.1680
Form: Bird

* Earth to Heaven: The Royal Animal-Shaped Weights of the Burmese Empire Paperback –2002 by Joan & Donald Gear

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