Strigil, Roman, 199 BCE-500 CE
- Made:
- 199 BCE-500 CE in Roman Empire
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LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseStrigil, bronze, heavily corroded, Roman
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Strigil, bronze, heavily corroded, Roman
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Strigil, bronze, heavily corroded, Roman
This heavily corroded set of bronze strigils shows the classic claw-like shape typical of these utensils.
Part of the bathing and personal hygiene routine in ancient Rome involved cleaning the body with oil. Having rubbed the oil in, a strigil was used to scrape away any excess as well as any dead skin and dirt. Athletes also used strigils to remove dirt, dust and oil from their bodies after exercise. This was sometimes bottled and sold as a medical treatment called gloios to relieve aches, pains and sprains.
Details
- Category:
- Classical & Medieval Medicine
- Collection:
- Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
- Object Number:
- A621906
- Materials:
- bronze
- Measurements:
-
overall: 90 mm x 182 mm x 34 mm, .04kg
- type:
- strigil
