Recognising and understanding the object
- Materials
- wood, bark, woven materials or metal depending on the example
- Parts
- vessel of defined capacity, rim, handle when present
- Purpose
- Measure dry goods or liquids within a local system.
- Period
- Context of nineteenth- and twentieth-century household collections and historical accounts; individual objects differ in date.
- Place and distribution
- The historical measures collection at Rokiškis Regional Museum.
What it is and how it works
Gorčius names both a historical volume unit and a vessel made to hold that quantity. Rokiškis Museum distinguishes an older Lithuanian value of about 5.6 litres from a newer value of about 2.82 litres established after 1765. The name alone therefore cannot determine the conversion.
Evidence and examples
The account also mentions gorčius measures used in other territories. For a recipe, trade record or farm account, establish place, date and measurement system first. Importing a value from another period produces a tidy-looking number without a secure historical basis.
How to identify it
Museum vessels use several materials and techniques. Identification needs a record of measuring use, rather than simply a wooden or woven surface. Retain the original unit and add an approximate equivalent only when its system is known. If it is unknown, say so: that is more informative than an appearance of exactness.
