Harvard Art Museums > 1977.216.2202.20: Tweezers 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"Tweezers , 1977.216.2202.20,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Sep 12, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/117345. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1977.216.2202.20 Title Tweezers Classification Tools and Equipment Work Type tweezer Date 1st-5th century CE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Rome (Latium) Period Roman period Culture Roman Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/117345 Physical Descriptions Medium Copper alloy Technique Cast Dimensions 9.6 x 0.5 x 1.4 cm (3 3/4 x 3/16 x 9/16 in.) Technical Details Technical Observations: The patina is green and black with some thick encrustations. The object is basically intact, but the surface detail is poorly preserved. The tweezers were fabricated by casting and hot working to shape them, followed by finishing techniques. The corroded and encrusted surface does not show any tool marks. 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 1977.216.2202.20 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 Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums This set of tweezers is made of a single piece of metal. Its arms taper near the curved apex. The flat jaws are bent at an angle (1). In the ancient world, tweezers were used both as part of a surgeon’s kit and also as a standard cosmetic item for depilation (2). NOTES: 1. Very similar examples are known from Augst, Switzerland, dated tot the first half of the first century CE; see E. Riha, Römisches Toilettgerät und medizinische Instrumente aus Augst und Kaiseraugst (Augst, 1986) 37, nos. 101-102, pl. 13. See also M. Garsson, ed., Une histoire d’alliage: Les bronzes antiques des réserves du Musée d’Archéologie Méditerranéenne, exh. cat. (Marseille, 2004) 53, nos. 118-19; and P. M. Allison, The Insula of the Menander at Pompeii 3: The Finds (Oxford, 2006) 29 and 46, no. 41, pl. 3.3. 2. J. S. Milne, Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman Times (Oxford, 1907) 90-93; L. J. Bliquez, Roman Surgical Instruments and Other Minor Objects in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (Mainz, 1994) 60; and Allison 2006 (supra 1) 29. David Smart Exhibition History 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/04/2021 - 01/02/2022 Subjects and Contexts Roman Domestic Art Ancient Bronzes Related Works 1964.12.32.A-B Fragmentary Tweezers Tools and Equipment 1992.256.113 Tweezers Tools and Equipment 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