Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
One end of this cyathiscomele terminates in an olivary probe, while the other is an oval bowl. The distinct shape of the probe may indicate that the object could have been used for mixing and applying various materials. Decorative molding is visible at the transition between the circular-sectioned shaft and the long, narrow bowl. The molding consists of a bead with one thin raised rib on one side and two on the other. A similar instrument was found in a grave at Pompeii (1).
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. A. Mairui, “Pompei: Scavo della ‘Grande Palestra’ nel quartiere dell’Anfiteatro (a. 1935-1939),” Notizie degli Scavi 1939: 165-283, esp. 216-21, figs. 30-32. See also E. Künzl, Medizinische Instrumente aus Sepulkralfunden der römischen Kaiserzeit (Cologne, 1983) 12, fig. 3.
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
