Portable scale consisting of an ivory scale rod, a brass pan and a weight, stored in a fiddle-shaped bamboo case. The ivory scale rod is marked in black dots, a detached oval brass weight attached by a string slides up and down the rod, a brass pan is suspended from one end of the rod by four strings. The bamboo case is in two halves, riveted at one end and secured with a wickerwork loop. The inside is hollowed out to fit the rod, pan and weight. There are postage rates written in English on the case in black ink. Portable scale of this type were used by Chinese merchants to weigh small amounts of silver.
