Weight in shape of frog
Zoomorphic weights were widespread in the ancient world. Weights in the shape of frogs and toads were rare in the Near East, but they do occur in Egypt. This frog weight is dated to the second millennium B.C. on the basis of the four line Akkadian inscription under its throat: "a frog [weighing] 10 minas, a legitimate weight of the god Shamash, belonging to Iddin-Nergal, son of Arkat-ili-damqa." The mina was the Mesopotamian unit of measure, weighing about 500 grams (18 ounces). The weight system was based on the talent or the average load that could be carried by a man or animal (about 30 kilograms). According to the Sumerian sexagesimal system, the talent was divided into 60 minas, and a mina was divided into 60 shekels.
Artwork Details
- Title: Weight in shape of frog
- Period: Old Babylonian
- Date: ca. 2000–1600 BCE
- Geography: Mesopotamia
- Culture: Babylonian
- Medium: Diorite or andesite
- Dimensions: H. 12.3 cm (4 3/4 in.) L. 21.8 cm (8 1/2 in.) Wt. 4676 grams
- Credit Line: Purchase, Leon Levy and Shelby White Gift, Rogers Fund and Nathaniel Spear Jr. Gift, 1988
- Object Number: 1988.301
- Curatorial Department: Ancient West Asian Art
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Kassite
ca. 1307–1282 BCE
Kassite
ca. mid-2nd millennium BCE
Kassite
ca. mid- to late 2nd Millennium BC
Babylonian
ca. 19th–16th century BCE
Babylonian
ca. 19th–16th century BCE
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