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Burmese opium weight: Antique bronze Fenghuang (Phoenix bird) bird 314 g, Chinese mythology, 1600-1885 AD. Although widely known as opium weights these bronze zoomorphic weights were used for the measurement of basic necessities throughout Burma (and also northern Thailand and Laos). A full set of weights normal consists of 10 pieces from very small sizes up the largest size known as a viss (around 1.6 kg) - although some later sets had additional larger weights too. The weights and measures system in Burma was carefully controlled and weights checked for accuracy. The production of these weights ended in Burma after the British took control of the country in 1885. Prices vary according to scarcity of the animal/mythical beast used, with rarer designs fetching higher prices. Some of the more recent Laotian weights use particularly uncommon and collectable designs. Weight: 314.16 g; Height: 65 mm; Base: 42 x 42 mm; Age: several hundred years old Not attracted to the magnet; Full tail; Provenance: private collection in St Petersburg, FL Fènghuáng (Chinese: 鳳凰; Jyutping: fung6 wong4; Cantonese Yale: fuhng wòhng, Mandarin pronunciation: [fə̂ŋ.xwǎŋ]) are mythological birds found in Sinospheric mythology that reign over all other birds. The males were originally called fèng and the females huáng, but this distinction of gender is often no longer made and they are blurred into a single feminine entity so that the bird can be paired with the Chinese dragon, which is traditionally deemed male. It is known under similar names in various other languages (Japanese: hōō; Vietnamese: phượng hoàng or phụng hoàng; Korean: bonghwang). In the Western world, it is commonly called the Chinese phoenix or simply phoenix, although mythological similarities with the Western phoenix are superficial. A common depiction of fenghuang was of it attacking snakes with its talons and its wings spread. According to the Erya's chapter 17 Shiniao, fenghuang is made up of the beak of a rooster, the face of a swallow, the forehead of a fowl, the neck of a snake, the breast of a goose, the back of a tortoise, the hindquarters of a stag and the tail of a fish.[1] Today, however, it is often described as a composite of many birds including the head of a golden pheasant, the body of a mandarin duck, the tail of a peacock, the legs of a crane, the mouth of a parrot, and the wings of a swallow.[citation needed] The fenghuang's body symbolizes the celestial bodies: the head is the sky, the eyes are the sun, the back is the moon, the wings are the wind, the feet are the earth, and the tail is the planets.[2] The fenghuang is said to have originated in the sun.[2] Its body contains the five fundamental colors: black, white, red, yellow, and green.[2] It sometimes carries scrolls or a box with sacred books.[2] It is sometimes depicted with a fireball.[2] It is believed that the bird only appears in areas or places that are blessed with utmost peace and prosperity or happiness. Chinese tradition cites it as living atop the Kunlun Mountains in northern China.

재료

Bronze