Harvard Art Museums > 1939.131: Cyathiscomele 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"Cyathiscomele , 1939.131,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Nov 21, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/310781. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1939.131 Title Cyathiscomele Other Titles Former Title: Spoon Classification Tools and Equipment Work Type medical instrument Date 1st-4th century CE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Antioch (Syria) Find Spot: Middle East, Türkiye (Turkey) Period Roman Imperial period Culture Roman Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/310781 Physical Descriptions Medium Copper alloy Technique Cast and hammered Dimensions 16.9 x 1.4 cm (6 5/8 x 9/16 in.) Technical Details Technical Observations: The patina is dark brown with raised spots of green and metal showing through in some areas. Small corrosion losses are present at the scoop’s edge. The scoop section appears to have been hammered from the same section of rod stock as the shaft. Decorative indentations could be the result of either hammering or filing. Henry Lie (submitted 2010) Provenance Recorded Ownership History Excavated from Seleucia, sector 18-F (no. a-1344-U614) (Turkey, Hatay) by the Syrian Department of Antiquities (later the Hatay government) and the Committee for the Excavation of Antioch and Its Vicinity, (1935-1939), dispersed; to Fogg Art Museum, 1939. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Committee for the Excavation of Antioch and its Vicinity Accession Year 1939 Object Number 1939.131 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 shaft of this cyathiscomele is set at an angle to the bowl, perhaps making it easier to hold levelly (1). Three incisions ring the shaft above the spoon, and the tip ends in a distinct oblong olivary probe. The bowl is long with a chip missing from one edge. 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 J. S. Milne, Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman Times (Oxford, 1907) 61, pl. 14.3. 2. Milne 1907 (supra 1) 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 1) 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 Exhibition History Antioch-on-the-Orontes: Excavating an Early Byzantine City, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library & Collection, Washington, 04/07/2010 - 10/10/2010 Subjects and Contexts Ancient Bronzes Related Works 1977.216.2201.5 Cyathiscomele Handle Tools and Equipment 1977.216.2202.7 Cyathiscomele Tools and Equipment 1977.216.2202.6 Cyathiscomele Tools and Equipment 1977.216.2202.5 Cyathiscomele Tools and Equipment 1977.216.2201.6 Cyathiscomele Tools and Equipment 1977.216.2201.7 Cyathiscomele Tools and Equipment 1935.40 Cyathiscomele 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