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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1977.216.2202.7
Title
Cyathiscomele
Classification
Tools and Equipment
Work Type
medical instrument
Date
1st-4th century CE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Rome (Latium)
Period
Roman Imperial period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/98026

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper alloy
Technique
Cast
Dimensions
12.7 x 0.55 cm (5 x 3/16 in.)
Technical Details

Technical Observations: A pale green corrosion with red cuprite and thick grayish encrustations is present. The object appears to be intact.

The cyathiscomele was made by casting the general shape with some possible working to further shape the spoon end and finish the surface.


Carol Snow (submitted 2002)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Harold Wilmerding Bell, Cambridge, MA (by 1911), gift; to the Department of the Classics, Harvard University (1911-1977), transfer; to the Fogg Museum.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Department of the Classics, Harvard University, Gift of H. W. Bell
Accession Year
1977
Object Number
1977.216.2202.7
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
An olivary probe is visible at one end of the circular-sectioned shaft of this cyathiscomele, while an elongated bowl is found at the opposite end (1). The oval bowl has a small chip missing from its tip. There are decorative ribs on the shaft where it transitions into the bowl. The molding consists of a bead with two thin raised ribs on one side and three on the other.

Greek and Roman medical instruments, many of which were described by ancient authors, have been found, sometimes in sets, throughout the ancient world (2). The instruments could have been used for more than one function, making precise classification difficult in some instances. A cyathiscomele is a type of scoop probe, with a spoon terminal at one end and a probe at the other, used for stirring and applying medicines, among other uses, including cosmetic (3).

NOTES:

1. A very similar, although slightly shorter, cyathiscomele was published as part of a Swiss private collection; see N. Rauch, Instruments de chirurgie gréco-romains (Lausanne, 1961) 9 and 13, no 16. Also comparable are three instruments with more elaborate shafts from Vindonissa; see G. Döderlein, Antike medizinische Instrumente: Funde zu Vindonissa (Tuttlingen, 1980) 15. See also E. Künzl, Medizinische Instrumente aus Sepulkralfunden der römischen Kaiserzeit (Cologne, 1983) 98, fig. 78.

2. J. S. Milne, Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman Times (Oxford, 1907) 1-9; and D. Michaelides, “A Roman Surgeon’s Tomb from Nea Paphos,” Report of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus, 1984: 315-32, esp. 321-23.

3. Milne 1907 (supra 2) 61-63; Michaelides 1984 (supra 2) 326; and R. Jackson and S. La Niece, “A Set of Roman Medical Instruments from Italy,” Britannia 17 (1986): 119-67, esp. 158.


David Smart

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Related Works

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