Ancient Roman Bronze Medical or Cosmetic Tweezers

$56.83

An Ancient Roman pair of cosmetic tweezers, modelled in bronze. A single piece of flat bronze is modelled into the tweezer shape, tightened by a thin band and featuring a hoop at the end. Such tweezers would have been used in everyday life for medical or cosmetic purposes, and were probably part of a larger medical set, including other instruments, like probes or spatulae. 

Date: Circa 1st-3rd Century AD
Condition: Extremely fine. Some patination on surface due to ageing.

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SKU: CS-233 Category: Tag:

In Ancient Roman society, tweezers were used as cosmetic and medical tools, which typically required longer and narrower arms.. Cosmetic tweezers, called vulsella, were mainly used for depilation, which was fashionable amongst women throughout the Empire. Interesting, small tweezers, such as this example, would have been also used to adjust the wicks of lamps.

To find out more about Roman medicine please see our relevant blog post: Roman Medicine and Medical Tools.

Weight 3 g
Dimensions L 4.5 cm
Culture

Metal

Region

Reference: For a similar item, The British Museum, item number 1904,0204.71