måttspann

Måttspann is a Swedish term for a measuring vessel, specifically a bucket or pail calibrated to a standard volume. Historically, a måttspann was used in rural trade and farming to measure out liquids and dry goods such as grain, milk, oil or ale, according to local measuring systems. The vessel was typically made of wood or metal and fitted with a handle, with graduation marks along its side indicating the contained volume. The exact capacity of a måttspann varied by region and period, as local authorities or merchants defined the size of a spann or related mått units. In practice, a måttspann functioned as a portable standard: buyers and sellers could fill the bucket to the marked line to deliver a predetermined amount.

Regional variation was common; some communities used several sizes of måttspann for different commodities. The system formed part of a broader pre-metric measurement culture in Sweden and neighboring countries, where many trades relied on physical measuring vessels rather than fixed metric containers.

With the introduction and spread of metric measurement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the practical use of måttspann declined, and the units were replaced by liters and deciliters in official commerce. Today, surviving examples are primarily of historical interest and are found in museums or private collections. They are studied to understand past trade practices, standardization processes, and rural daily life.