Antique wooden barcella

Antique wooden barcella, typical of Sineu (village of Mallorca, Balearic Islands). A tool for calculating the volume of grain. The barcella is a measure, in the shape of a conical trunk, with a handle on each side. It shows signs of wear from the passage of time. Antique piece, collector’s item.

A barcella is an ancient volumetric measure of grain that was equivalent to approximately one sixth of a cuartera. In the Balearic Islands and Tortosa it was divided into six almudes but in the region of Valencia it was only divided into four almudes. Its capacity is 11.76 litres. It was measured with truncated cone-shaped containers, also known as barcella, which were made of wood with iron rings, one at the top and the other at the bottom to hold the lap, formed by pieces of wood. On the outside of the barcella there were two handles, in opposite positions, to hold it. On the inside, at the top, an iron rod, the “busca”, which had another one welded in the middle, perpendicularly, which reached to the bottom of the barcella to support the wooden base, and which was also used to hold the barcella, crossed along the diameter.