Harvard Art Museums > 1932.56.45: Spoon Tools and Equipment Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Spoon , 1932.56.45,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 19, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/291127. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1932.56.45 Title Spoon Classification Tools and Equipment Work Type spoon Date 1st-4th century CE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe Period Roman Imperial period Culture Roman Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/291127 Physical Descriptions Medium Bone Technique Carved Dimensions actual: 12.9 cm (5 1/16 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History Dr. Harris Kennedy, Milton, MA (by 1932), gift; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1932. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Dr. Harris Kennedy, Class of 1894 Accession Year 1932 Object Number 1932.56.45 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description This carved bone spoon is in one piece. The bowl is oval shaped and the handle is sharpened to a point at the end. The surface is highly polished. Commentary A small bone spoon such as this could have been used for the application of cosmetics; woman applied color to their cheeks, whitened their faces, and penciled in eyebrows. The oval end would have scooped cosmetics from jars and boxes (such as 2012.1.128), while the sharp end mixed pigments and ointments before application. The importance of cosmetics in the ancient world is attested by the surviving objects as well as accounts by Roman writers detailing recipes for hair dyes and other ointments. Publication History Ioli Kalavrezou, Byzantine Women and Their World, exh. cat., Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2003), p.261, no. 153 Exhibition History Roman Gallery Installation (long-term), Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/16/1999 - 01/20/2008 Byzantine Women and Their World, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 10/25/2002 - 04/28/2003 Subjects and Contexts Roman Domestic Art Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
