Harvard Art Museums > 1977.216.2201.7: 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 , 1977.216.2201.7,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 23, 2025, https://hvrd.art/o/99092. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1977.216.2201.7 Title Cyathiscomele Classification Tools and Equipment Work Type medical instrument Date 1st-4th century CE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Rome (Latium) Period Roman Imperial period Culture Roman Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/99092 Physical Descriptions Medium Copper alloy Technique Cast Dimensions 10.5 x 0.45 cm (4 1/8 x 3/16 in.) Technical Details Technical Observations: The patina is a dull gray metallic surface. The object is intact, although the tip is missing. The cyathiscomele was made by casting the general shape, with some possible working to further shape the flat ends and finish the surface. This instrument has a fragment of wire wrapped around the handle. Carol Snow (submitted 2002) Provenance Recorded Ownership History "From Rome" according to Classical Collection index card; received as a gift of H.W. Bell on Feb. 2, 1911. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Department of the Classics, Harvard University, Gift of H. W. Bell Accession Year 1977 Object Number 1977.216.2201.7 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 This cyathiscomele has a very shallow bowl on one end of the smooth shaft and a thin bud-shaped finial on the other. On the tip of the finial is a small sphere. A wire has been looped around the shaft near the finial. Greek and Roman medical instruments, many of which were described by ancient authors, have been found, sometimes in sets, throughout the ancient world (1). 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 (2). NOTES: 1. 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. 2. Milne 1907 (supra 1) 61-63; Michaelides 1984 (supra 1) 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 Object Number 1977.216.2201.5 Title Cyathiscomele Handle Classification Tools and Equipment Object Number 1977.216.2202.7 Title Cyathiscomele Classification Tools and Equipment Object Number 1977.216.2202.6 Title Cyathiscomele Classification Tools and Equipment Object Number 1977.216.2202.5 Title Cyathiscomele Classification Tools and Equipment Object Number 1977.216.2201.6 Title Cyathiscomele Classification Tools and Equipment Object Number 1935.40 Title Cyathiscomele Classification Tools and Equipment Object Number 1939.131 Title Cyathiscomele Classification 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
