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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1935.40
Title
Cyathiscomele
Other Titles
Former Title: Spoon
Classification
Tools and Equipment
Work Type
medical instrument
Date
early 3rd-mid 7th century
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Mesopotamia
Find Spot: Middle East, Iraq
Period
Sasanian period
Culture
Sasanian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304052

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper alloy
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
14.1 x 1.1 cm (5 9/16 x 7/16 in.)
Technical Details

Technical Observations: The patina consists of a pale green corrosion with red cuprite and thick grayish encrustations. This piece is missing most of its bowl.

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)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of The American Institute for Persian Art and Archaeology, from the Holmes Expedition to Kish
Accession Year
1935
Object Number
1935.40
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
The long, straight shaft has a blunt, rounded tip, while the other end is a bowl that is broken and missing approximately half of its original shape (1). At the end of the shaft closest to the bowl, a summarily executed diamond-shaped decoration is framed by two thin, ribbed collars, with three collars between the decoration and the bowl and two below the decoration. Another collar is set just below the bowl.

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. Compare E. Künzl, Medizinische Instrumente aus Sepulkralfunden der römischen Kaiserzeit (Cologne, 1983) 94, fig. 75.14.

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 Objects

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