Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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| Bronze Nested Weight Photo submitted by Dan B. of the Capitana crew. |
Notice the decorative rings. That could mean it is the largest and therefore outer cup of the set.
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| Nested Weight Set. Source: Artifacts of the Spanish Colonial Colonies of Florida and the Caribbean, 1500 -1800n by Kathleen Deagan. |
The largest cup in a set would accept a lid, as shown above. The outer cup would be equal in weight to the total of the smaller weights. The smallest cup would contain a disk that weighs the same amount as the smallest cup.
Bronze nested weight cups have previously been found on 1715 wrecks as well as the Margarita. This one could be one of the more meaningful.
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| Two more views of the same weight. These photos were submitted by Captain Jonah of the Capitana. |
The one shown today is probably the largest cup in the group. That would be the one that would be decorated. Hopefully it is also the one that would bear the makers mark.
Most of those made in the sixteenth through eighteenth century were made in Nuremberg. Those produced in Nuremberg were required by law to be marked by the person who made them. There is a excellent catalog of marks, so it might actually be possible to determine who made this one.
Congratulations on the great artifact finds! And thanks for sharing!They found more items. I'll be posting some of them in the near future.
I showed a silver spoon yesterday that they found.
At least one bronze nested weight was found on the Margarita and can be found in the Mel Fisher artifact database.
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Every artifact has a story. If you do some research and explore the story, you'll learn and lot and have a lot of fun.
Below are a few excerpts from an article on a Smithsonian web site. It is Looking at Artifacts, Thinking About History by Steven Lubar and Kathleen Kendrick
Artifacts—the objects we make and use—are part of American history. If we know how to look at them, they can be sources for better understanding our history. While textbooks focus on the great documents of the American past, or the important events, artifacts can show us another kind of history, another way of approaching the past...
..To understand the past, we have to understand the artifacts of the past...
...They make history real. Moreover, it is a reality that can and should be viewed from different perspectives. When museums choose not to enshrine and isolate an artifact but instead open it up to new interpretations and different points of view, they provide opportunities to challenge and enhance our understanding of the past. Look at the artifacts on this web site, and around you, as reminders of the complexity of the past. To fully appreciate the complexity of artifacts—and of history—we must not only acknowledge their multiple and conflicting meanings, but embrace them.
As you look at the artifacts ... think about them not as simple, unproblematic things—things with one story, one role to play in history. Rather, consider each artifact with its many stories as holding diverse meanings for different people, past and present. Think of them as bits of contested history. It is because of the contest and conflict they embody, and the way they combine use and meaning, that artifacts are such valuable tools for exploring the past.
Here is the source link.
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/idealabs/ap/essays/looking.htm
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The most read post of May was the 5/2/16 Report - Old Beach Ring Finds and More On The Apparent Lack Of Silver 1715 Wreck Rings.
The most "Google Plused" post of May was the 5/14/16 Report - Contributions By Amateurs, Hobbyists, Detectorists and Treasure Hunters. TV Shows. The Florida Collection.
You might want to go back and look at those posts or some of the most-popular posts listed on the main page.
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Like I said, I have more to show and more news to share. I'll do that soon.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
