Greengrocer’s Scale

A fully handmade scale used by an itinerant greengrocer, made of forged iron. The weighing apparatus consists of a large circular tray for collecting produce, a suspension system with chains and metal hooks, and the main measuring arm (kantari), fitted with a sliding counterweight. Balance is achieved through the familiar principle of the lever scale: the weight of the goods on the tray is counterbalanced by moving the counterweight along the graduated arm.
This is a characteristic tool of itinerant small traders in the first decades of the 20th century. It belonged to Konstantinos Tsobanidis, a refugee from Alaya, who settled in Nea Ionia in the early years and worked as a greengrocer in the streets and neighbourhoods of the area.

Kindly made available for photography by the family of Varvara Koumoutsou–Tsompanaki.