Lacquered wooden ruler decorated in gold with flowers. The division does not tally with Western sizes such as inches or centimeters. Instead traditional units of measure were customary. Many of the units were formerly based on the number 16 instead of 10. Small rulers like this were used for home crafts such as sewing children’s clothing, collars, head gear and other garments. The ruler dates from the end of the Qing period (1644 – 1912). Length 35.5 cm. Width 2.0 cm. Thickness 0.4 cm.