A leather blind-stamped case with four different compartments containing a square brass rod, two pointed steel rods and a steel knife. The top cover of the case is missing.The brass rod has a screwed in foliate ornamented top. The rod itself is calibrated on the four sides as follows:
1) A linear 12 inch scale, numbered by 1 and divided to 1/2 and 1/4 inches, the space for the first inch is further divided to 1/12.
2) A non linear scale marked 'STEIN' (Stone) 0 to 32 (numbered by 4 and divided to 1) and 0 to 60 (numbered by 1 and divided to 1/5 from 1 to 5 and numbered by 5 from and divided to 1 from 5 to 60).
3) A non linear scale marked 'BLEI' (lead) 0 to 32 (numbered by 4 and divided to 1) and 0 to 100 (numbered by from 1 to 5 and numbered by 5 from 5 to 100, divided to 1).
4) A non-linear scale marked 'EISEN' (iron) 0 to 32 (numbered by 4 and divided to 1) and 0 to 100 (numbered by from 1 to 5 and numbered by 5 from 5 to 100, divided to 1).
The steel knife has the same screwed in foliate ornamented top as the square brass rod. It is punched with a small heart on the blade.
The two pointed steel rods have identical ornamented brass tops in the form of female heads.
The object was presented by Max Rosenheim in 1898 and is described in F. A. B. Ward, A Catalogue of European Scientific Instruments in the Department of Medieval and Later Antiquities of the British Museum (London, 1981), p. 88, no. 248.
Silke Ackermann
