Steelyard Rod with Weight and Hooks

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Steelyards, a Roman invention, were used to weigh goods by sliding weights along the rod to balance the load suspended from hooks on the chains. This rod is inscribed with scales for two sets of measures and the names of the owners.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.

Metropolitan Museum of Art