The Metrological Relief

Marble architectural relief. From the Aegean or Western Turkey, 460-450 BC

This pediment-shaped relief probably hung above the entrance to a weights and measures office in the marketplace of a Greek city. It shows the upper part of a male torso, head turned to the side with an outstretched arm. A right footprint is shown above the arm and a fist-sized cavity has been deliberately cut near the wrist. The right end of the relief is lost. Each feature - the hand, arm spans, footprint and fist cavity - represents a different unit of measure.

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