Bronze Islamic Weight 2 Dirham Spheroid from Caesarea Maritima

[v-drome]

Hi, all.  I wanted to show this unusual and beautifully crafted Islamic bronze weight from Caesarea.  Holland has a similar
example in his 1986 paper, and I also found a 5 dirham one in the Pondera archives (https://pondera.uclouvain.be/artifact/11737/).

Regards, Jimi (V-drome)

BCC BW55
Islamic Bronze Weight
Caesarea Maritima  2 Dirham
7th-12th Century CE
Smoothly curved, nearly spherical cast bronze weight
decorated with close-set "bird's-eye" punch-marks over
the entire body.  Flat polar faces, each marked with a
single punch-mark surrounded by two concentric grooves. 
Very uncommon type.  Dia: 11.25mm. Ht: 9.2mm Wt: 5.87gm.
see Holland, "ANSMN 31 (1986)" #61; and Holland, W.W.O.C.M.,
ch. 8; "Dirham Series-Spheroid".
Surface find Caesarea Maritima, 1971
(click for larger pic)

My weights gallery: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=5252

[wileyc]

Interesting weight, one wonders what prompted the "extra" Birds Eye punches.

CW

[v-drome]

The usual explanation, I suppose, is that such decoration hindered any "fraudulent readjustment", but Holland goes on to say that "Anyone who has handled and examined these remarkable objects will have no difficulty in imagining a craftsman’s pleasure in producing and embellishing them."  So, just for fun I guess!