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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1932.56.12
Title
Object with Eyelet
Other Titles
Former Title: Surgical Instrument
Classification
Tools and Equipment
Work Type
medical instrument
Date
1st century CE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
Period
Roman Imperial period, Early
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303746

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze
Technique
Cast
Dimensions
13.9 x 1.5 cm, 0.2 cm (5 1/2 x 9/16 in., 1/16 in.)
Technical Details

Technical Observations: The patina is a mottled green with raised grayish-black corrosion products. The instrument was fashioned in one piece. Notches and lines perpendicular to the blade were formed on the front of the piece in the metal; the back is smooth and flat. It is not clear how the round hole was made. The edges of the hole are stepped, and the blade edges are slightly rounded. The blade is slightly bent, and it is not clear whether this was intentional or accidental.


Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2012)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Dr. Harris Kennedy, Milton, MA (by 1932), gift; to the William Hayes 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
1932.56.12
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
This slender surgical instrument is flat and undecorated on one side, while the other side is slightly modeled, with four or more incised lines for decoration. No blade edge is apparent. The shaft is surmounted by a circular ring with a semicircular outline.

The eyelet may indicate the instrument was part of a set of tools held on a ring, similar to a set of toilet instruments at the British Museum, London (1).

NOTES:

1. See H. B. Walters, Catalogue of the Bronzes in the British Museum: Greek, Roman and Etruscan (London, 1899) 317, no. 2394. A similar instrument, although slightly shorter and with a more pronounced curve to the blade, is published in N. Rauch, Instruments de chirurgie gréco-romains, Propriété de la Foundation Hardt, June 13, 1961 (Geneva, 1961) 23, no. 84.


David Smart

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes
  • 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