Roman Finely Decorated Pair of Tweezers

£ 260.00

An Ancient Roman pair of bronze cosmetic tweezers, featuring rectangular outer faces and a finely modelled pointed end. The details shown in this beautiful example of Roman everyday items demonstrate the mastery that Ancient Romans had in working bronze.

Date: Circa 1st-3rd Century AD
Condition: Fine, with signs of aging and bronze patination to the surface.

SOLD

Product Code: RES-26
Category: Tag:

In Ancient Roman society, tweezers were used as cosmetic and medical tools. Cosmetic tweezers, called vulsella, were mainly used for depilation, which was fashionable amongst women throughout the Empire. The item’s shape and fine decoration suggest that this was its use, rather than for minor surgical operations, which typically required a tool with longer and narrower arms.

To discover more about Roman medical tools, visit our relevant post: Roman Medical and Cosmetic Tools.

Dimensions L 12.5 cm
Region

Southern Europe

Metal

Bronze

Reference: For a similar item, The Metropolitan Museum, accession number 74.51.5435.