Harvard Art Museums > 1992.256.113: 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 , 1992.256.113,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 22, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/304525. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1992.256.113 Title Tweezers Classification Tools and Equipment Work Type tweezer Date 3rd-4th century CE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World Period Roman Imperial period Culture Roman Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/304525 Physical Descriptions Medium Copper alloy Technique Cast and hammered Dimensions 5.6 x 0.8 cm (2 3/16 x 5/16 in.) Technical Details Technical Observations: The patina is green, red, and black with encrustations. A loss of surface detail has occurred, and an iron strip inside the tweezers is missing an end. The object was cast and hot worked to shape the tweezers. Surface designs were engraved. A fragment of an iron strip of metal is held mechanically inside the tweezers by a copper alloy pin with its outer ends hammered over to make a rivet. Carol Snow (submitted 2002) Provenance Recorded Ownership History Louise M. and George E. Bates, Camden, ME (by 1971-1992), gift; to the Harvard University Art Museums, 1992. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Louise M. and George E. Bates Accession Year 1992 Object Number 1992.256.113 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 The tweezers are formed from a copper alloy strip that is bent, creating a loop at the apex. The strips below the loop are roughly triangular, with somewhat more elaborate decoration directly below the loop and some incised geometric decoration on the exterior surfaces (1). The tweezers end in rounded points. An iron strip runs half way down the length from the apex on the inside of the tweezers. 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. Compare with longer instrument from Roman Egypt called forceps (perhaps artery forceps) in V. Moller-Christensen, The History of Forceps: An Investigation on the Occurrence, Evolution, and Use of the Forceps from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day (Copenhagen, 1938) 139, fig. 200. See also R. Jackson, “A Set of Roman Medical Instruments from Italy,” Britannia 17 (1986): 119-167, esp. 122-23, nos. 10-11, fig. 1. 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 P. M. Allison, The Insula of the Menander at Pompeii 3: The Finds (Oxford, 2006) 29. David Smart Subjects and Contexts Ancient Bronzes Roman Domestic Art Related Works 1964.12.32.A-B Fragmentary Tweezers Tools and Equipment 1977.216.2202.20 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
