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equipment for personal use: grooming, hygiene and health care
equipment for personal use: grooming, hygiene and health care

equipment for personal use: grooming, hygiene and health care

Object NameStrigil
Made FromGlass
Date99 BCE-399 CE
Place MadeRoman Empire
Techniquedrawn, tooled
SizeOverall H: 11.3 cm, W: 0.8 cm
Accession Number59.1.144
Curatorial Area(s)
Not On View
Interpretive Notes
The object is a strigil (Latin, strigilis), a scraper used by athletes and bathers for cleaning the skin; olive oil was applied to the skin and removed by scraping, together with dirt or sweat. Strigils, usually of iron or copper alloy, were commonly used in the Roman Empire, and they are mentioned by a number of writers, including Plautus, Cicero, Horace, Suetonius, and Juvenal.
Physical DescriptionTransparent yellowish brown glass; drawn and tooled; consisting of ribbon-like strip of glass with concave-convex cross section. Upper end is bent back, down and in to form loop for suspension; strip descends vertically, then curves forward, down and out, and tapers to point.
Provenance
Source Ray Winfield Smith (American, 1897-1982) - 1959-07-27

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