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Antique French Roberval cast iron counter balance scale base featuring a distressed red and green paint patina. - Photo 1
The Item
This antique French Roberval counter balance scale base brings a magnificent layer of industrial history and rustic farmhouse character to any decorative display. Cast from solid pig iron at the turn of the twentieth century, the base features deeply embossed typography reading 'FORCE' and '2 KILOS' along its front facade. The piece showcases an extraordinary, authentic distressed polychrome finish, layered with a striking combination of vibrant aged red, orange, and green paint that has worn down over decades of market service to reveal a dark, rich iron patina beneath. Crafted with the classic double-comb parallelogram linkage system invented by French mathematician Gilles Personne de Roberval, the upper rocker arm retains its integrated central leveling needle and double-cross iron brackets. While this specimen is missing its original brass or tin weighing pans, the structural body remains entirely sound, heavy, and full of blue-collar European charm. The visible lead calibration plugs on the balancing arms offer an intriguing look at early manufacturing precision. An exceptional architectural fragment or primitive curiosity, this heavy-duty scale base serves as a compelling focal point for a kitchen island, fireplace mantel, or mercantile shop display. Its rugged textures, historic paint loss, and time-worn metalwork make it an unforgettable find for collectors of early industrial kitchenalia and European country antiques.

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