Antikes Griechisch-Römisches Ausgezeichnete medizinische Sammlung von 33 Objekten, 1. Jahrhundert v. Chr. – 2. Jahrhundert n.

Exceptional Greco-Roman medical collection comprising 33 objects, 1st century BC - 2nd century AD.

Lot summary (information as per gallery description):

- Large bronze medicine box with five dividers ("Boxes for Drugs") composed of four elements: a box and sliding lid, and two inner half-boxes (bronze or copper alloy). A very rare and exceptional object.

- Ointment plate (1) with a beveled edge and smooth surface. Material: lead. Base plate for preparing ointments.

- Medical utensils or objects (23) (21 bronze or copper alloy, 1 iron, 1 silver): Pompeian-type scalpel and other models (5), osculatory (2), stylus (6), curved dissector (1), decorated handle (1), scraper probe (1), spoons (2), hollow simple probe (1), needles (2), extractor hook (1), unpublished utensils (1). Material: bronze.

- 4 nested bronze vessels.

- Unguentarium or ointment container (1), with a globular or flattened spherical body and a long, narrow, slightly flared neck. Condition: intact body, slight wear on the rim. The surface displays the characteristic iridescence of a bright greenish effect caused by the chemical decomposition of the glass over the centuries. Dimensions: height 160 mm, body 114 mm. The neck is positioned slightly off-center with respect to the vertical axis of symmetry. It is held upright.

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All the objects described belong to the same lot and the same collection formed in the 1960s. This lot was acquired in 2002 from a gallery specializing in archaeology and historical objects in Spain. Previously, it was a private collection assembled in the mid-1960s in London, United Kingdom.

Details: Greco-Roman medical set composed of 33 objects, 1st century BC - 2nd century AD.

Historical period of the set: 1st century BC - 2nd century AD.

- Large bronze box with five dividers (two elements: box and sliding lid) and two compartments with half-boxes. This object was used to store ointments, salves, and small medical instruments. A very rare and exceptional object.

Referred to as a medicine box or "Boxes for Drugs." Material: bronze, copper alloy. Used as a container for various medical items and utensils. The flat sliding lid has a horseshoe-shaped handle or pull with three notches on each side and four bronze nails. The box has five compartments and a beveled or L-shaped fold at the top to guide and secure the lid.
Good condition, as can be seen in the images, with surface cracks, missing material on the lid, and some original restoration with flattening in various parts of the box's surface.
Dimensions: Length 172 mm x Width 83 mm x Height 34 mm. Total weight of the box and lid: 315 g.
These types of objects are very rare, and only a few complete examples with sliding lids and dividers are known.
In antiquity, these types of boxes were also used to store styluses or other writing instruments, as well as cosmetics. They were usually rectangular and of a suitable size and weight for carrying in a pocket. Their average size is 12 cm long, 7.5 cm wide, and 2 cm high. They are usually divided into four or more small compartments by partitions.

References: Valeria de Sitten Castle box. Box in the Royal Museum of Antiquities, Berlin. Classical & Medieval Medicine Collection, Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection. Galileo Museum, Museum of the History of Science, Florence, Italy. Medicine box, Cologne Museum. Roman pocket medicine chest, Science Museum, London. See example in the British Museum. Museum No. 1866,0415.235, box referred to as a “cosmetic box”.

- Ointment plate (1) with beveled edge, smooth surface. Material: lead. Plate recommended by classical authors for the manufacture and domestic preparation of cosmetics and ointments (medicamina faciei femina). Dimensions: 87 x 60 mm, thickness 65 mm. Weight: 322 g.

They were also more commonly made of slate or marble slabs. Small rectangular slabs, evidently used for rubbing medicines, are occasionally found in the Roman provinces. Some show wear on the edges from scalpel sharpening. Since they are rarely made of the local stone, they were evidently manufactured in Italy and transported by their owners on their travels. They are quite rare. There are two in the Naples Museum. Reference: coticulae for medicamina. Maria Vaulina and Aleksandra Wasowicz, Bois grecs et romains d L’Ermitage, Warsaw, 1974, pp. 135-144, nos. 59-64. Musée de Saint-Germain, Musée Carnavalet, Musée de Rouen, or Musée de la Comission des Antiquitates de Côte d’Or in Dijon. Archaeological Museum of Namur. Wall, Chester Museum, Northumberland.

- Exceptional Pompeian-type Scalpellus (1). Material: bronze and iron blade. Rectangular central section of bronze.
Eleven, an intact iron blade (an element that is rarely preserved), and the end of the handle has a leaf-shaped spatula that acts as a blunt dissector, a convex and lanceolate element with a central axis.
A Pompeian-style bronze surgeon's scalpel or lancet with an excellent iron blade, an asymmetrical lanceolate edge fitted to the rectangular handle by means of a narrow neck. The word that Galen, Aetius, and Paulus of Aegineta use to refer to the scalpel is σμίλη. Latin authors use scalpellus, a diminutive of scalper.
This type of classic Roman scalpel was an instrument to which interchangeable blades could be attached, inserted into the rectangular body with a slit. However, in this model, the blade appears to be welded to the body, and it has only one edge. The surgical scalpel generally had a steel blade and a bronze handle. While we find examples made entirely of steel or entirely of bronze, these are exceptional cases. Therefore, many more handles than blades are preserved, as the blade usually oxidizes and disappears without leaving a trace of its shape, hence the exceptional nature of this object.
Olive-green patina, beautiful uniform patina, iron blade with some stable oxidation. Dimensions: 88 mm, blade length 33 mm, width 13 mm. Weight: 26 g.

References: See the work of John Stewart Milne in “The Project Gutenberg eBook of Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman Times.” See surgical instruments from the House of the Surgeon, Campania, Pompeii, Italy. See the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Accession Number: 74.51.5327 // Accession Number: 74.51.5326. See article 188 in Ancient Brooches and Other Artifacts by Richard Hattatt.

Galen translates it in his lexicon as τῷ σμιλίῳ ἰατρικῷ γαστρωδεῖ, "the bulbous surgical scalpel." It is a rather useful instrument for various types of work and appears to have been of common use. This type of scalpel is depicted on the Acropolis votive tablet, and there are currently four others in the Naples Museum.

- Scalpel or Scalpellum (1). Material: bronze, copper alloy. Asymmetric convex blade and flat handle with a central groove on both sides for better grip; retains its sharp edge. Length 137 mm, maximum blade width 14 mm, weight: 12.4 g. One of the earliest depictions of a surgical knife with scalpel-like characteristics is found in the Temple of Asclepius on the Athenian Acropolis, dating to 300 BC.

- Scalpel (1). Material: bronze. Asymmetrical convex blade with a slightly sharp edge, rectangular handle for better grip, finely decorated with a four-leaf finial and turret. Length 150 mm, maximum blade width 5 mm, weight: 9.04 g.

One of the earliest depictions of a surgical knife with scalpel-like characteristics is found in the Temple of Asclepius on the Athenian Acropolis, dating to 300 BC. See other examples in John Stewart Milne's *The Project Gutenberg eBook of Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman Times*, Plate IX, Figure 4.

- Scalpellum (1) for eyelid surgery (ἀναρραφικὸν σμιλίον). Material: bronze, one end with a thin, lanceolate blade that retains a sharp edge, one face flat and the opposite face decorated with notches shaped like ears of wheat, handle with a circular cross-section and the opposite end pointed. Dimensions: length 151 mm, length of lanceolate blade 34 mm. Weight: 9.5 g.
The use of the scalpel for plastic surgery consisted, therefore, of making an incision in the eyelid in such a way as to delimit a leaf-shaped area and dissecting the skin surrounding the incision. Albucasis describes it as a small but fairly wide blade with a rounded cutting point. See John Stewart Milne's *The Project Gutenberg eBook of Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman Times*, Plate IX, Figure 3.

- Exceptional scalpel (1). Material: bronze. Symmetrical blade with a sharp edge on both sides and a point. The shaft has a circular cross-section and is finely decorated with a disc-shaped end. On one side is engraved an owl (glaukes) on a small olive branch, the legend ΑΘΕ, and on the other, a horse with its forequarters raised. The owl is the symbol of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, strategy, and war, and protector of the city of Athens. In antiquity, the owl was believed to possess superior wisdom due to its ability to see in the dark. Legend AOE (ΑΘΕ): These are the initials for Alpha, Theta, Epsilon. It is an abbreviation of ΑΘΗΝΑΙΩΝ (Athēnaiōn), meaning "of the Athenians." Length 113 mm, diameter of decorated disc: 21 mm, weight: 19 g. Beautiful patina with red and green sections.

- Osculatorium (1). Material: bronze. An object consisting of a rod with a circular cross-section, twisted for a better grip and ending in a ring (11 mm diameter), and at the opposite end, a decorated ovoid handle or disc (manubrium ornatum) with an incised engraving of a bird with outstretched wings.
idas (22x14x5mm). Dimensions: 119 mm. Ø 11 mm. Weight: 19.3 g. These types of objects had a utilitarian function, whether as toiletries, perfume stirrers, ointments and eye drops, liturgical instruments, or applicators of consecrated oils for the sick.

- Stylus (Latin: stylus or stilus) (1). Material: bronze. An object consisting of a rod with a circular cross-section twisted for a better grip, ending in a sharp point and, on the opposite end, terminating in a decorated ovoid handle (manubrium ornatum) with the incised engraving of the Ankh symbol, known as the "key of life" or symbol of eternal life in Egyptian mythology. Meaning: It represented the concept of life after death and the immortality of the human spirit (disc 22x14x5mm). A punch-like tool for extracting pustules and foreign bodies. Dimensions: length 107 mm. Weight: 18.2 g.

These types of blunt objects are very similar to hairpins.

- Stylus (Latin: stylus or stilus) (1). Material: bronze. An object consisting of a rectangular rod with incisions for a better grip, ending in a pointed tip and, on the opposite side, a decorated ovoid handle (manubrium ornatum) with the face of a lion (disc 29 mm). A punch-like tool for extracting pustules and foreign bodies. Dimensions: Length 102 mm. Weight: 46.3 g.

The lion's head is associated with figures like Heracles, who defeated the Nemean Lion and used its skin as a symbol of invulnerability. In funerary contexts, it symbolized protection from the afterlife. Deities like Sekhmet (lion goddess) embody destruction, war, and healing. These types of blunt objects are very similar to hairpins.

- Beautiful and previously unpublished decorated medical cosmetic instrument (1) of the extractor type, consisting of a rod with a circular cross-section ending in a hook with a pointed tip, and at the opposite end, a figurine of an angel or Eros (plural of Eros). The object may have been used for the extraction of foreign bodies, such as in the preparation of ointments. Dimensions: 127 mm. Weight: 23.3 g.


In Hellenistic and Roman art, the so-called winged children appear, symbolizing love in general, joy, fertility, beauty, and harmony. In a more funerary context, they represent the transcending soul (psyche). This type of symbolic decoration is found on sarcophagi, jewelry, and utensils. It adds a decorative and symbolic value related to the body, adornment, or intimacy, common in toiletries and luxury items.

- Curved dissector (1). Material: bronze. Instrument with a hook, a spiral handle with a circular cross-section, and a bronze spatula (ὑδροκηλικὸν κοπά΁ιον).

The dissector has an ornate handle with a circular-section spiral, a 44 mm hook that curves first backward and then forward to join the 70 mm spiral handle, and at the distal end a small, leaf-shaped dissector 38 mm long and 6 mm at its widest point. Dimensions: 152 mm long, but 17.5 g.
It may have been used as a probe for puncturing certain pustules and foreign bodies, and for dental purposes.
Decorated handle (1). Material: bronze. Decorated handle emulating the club of Heracles. Hollow interior for one-fifth of its length. This utensil would have served as a handle for interchangeable prongs. Dimensions: 65 mm. Weight: 38.8 g.

- Probe-scraper (1). Material: bronze. Medical instrument with a thickened, circular-section shaft decorated in the last third to facilitate gripping with tenon-shaped grooves. The main end has a small, flat, lenticular claw-type scraper; the opposite end terminates in a point. This is a versatile medical instrument used for dental cleaning, pustule puncture, foreign body removal, and for observing and exploring the depth of wounds or fistulas, as well as for deeply injecting ointments. Olive-green patina. Dimensions: 164 mm. Weight: 16.7 g.

- Spoon (1). Material: Silver. This instrument has a circular cross-section, with a concave circular spoon-shaped end and a solid, half-pineapple-shaped prong at the opposite end. It is used for administering medications, preparing ointments, creams, and eye drops, and for applying them. Copper patina. Dimensions: 107 mm. Weight: 6.5 g.

- Drop spoon (1). Material: Copper alloy. A rectangular instrument tapering towards the tip, its proximal end consisting of a concave circular spoon and a teardrop-shaped point, the opposite end also pointed. These types of spoons were used in the preparation of ointments, salves, and eye drops. Material: copper alloy. Dimensions: 121 mm. Weight: 3 g.

- Osculatorium (1). Material: bronze. An object consisting of a rod ending in a ring, with the opposite end tapering to a point.
Dimensions: 109 mm. Ø 22 mm. Weight: 9 g. These types of objects had a utilitarian function, whether as toiletries, perfume removers, ointments and eye drops, liturgical instruments, or applicators of consecrated oils for the sick.

- Stylus (1), styloid (Latin: stylus or stilus). Material: bronze. Rod with a circular cross-section, a fine point at one end and a wider end at the opposite end. Central section, acting as a handle, formed by a thickening of three bronze discs welded together and to the rod. A punch-like tool for extracting pustules and foreign bodies. Dimensions: length 134 mm. Ø central section: 15 mm. Weight: 20.7 g.

- Stylus (1). Material: Bronze. Rod with a circular cross-section, a fine point at one end, and a wider opposite end topped with a sphere of the same metal. Dimensions: 90 mm. Needle diameter: 2 mm. Sphere diameter: 9 mm. Weight: 4.9 g.

- Stylus or awl (1). Material: Bronze (larger) and iron (smaller). Rod with a circular cross-section, a pointed tip, and a wider, square opposite end that tapers towards the point. Dimensions: 105 mm. Diameter: 5 mm. Weight: 10.4 g.
The British Museum houses several types of instruments classified as surgical instruments, and a number of identical objects are found among the styluses used to engrave and erase characters on wax tablets. Since even the writing stylus was occasionally used for surgical procedures, it is justifiable to consider all stylus-shaped instruments as possible minor surgical instruments.

- Unpublished medical utensil. Material: Bronze. Object composed of a rod with a circular cross-section, one end pointed and the other spherical. In ancient times, the central element consisted of a hook and the opposite end a hammerhead, which would travel along the central rod like a piston. The object is open to multiple interpretations, as there is no reference to this type of object.

- Nested Vessels (4). Material: bronze. Nested vessels designed to fit one inside the other, like a stack. This saves space when storing or transporting them. This type of vessel appeared in the 6th century BC in various cultures such as Greek, Egyptian, and Roman. Similar vessels can be found in the 19th century with industrialization and the appearance of the so-called half-ounce (15 ml) nested vessels. Dimensions: height of the set 19 mm. 36 mm diameter and 53.44 g // 24 mm diameter and 12.64 g // 20 mm diameter and 7.13 g, 18 mm diameter and 6.52 g.

The lot includes all 33 objects. It does not include any modern display stands shown in some images.
The descriptions of the objects are those provided by the gallery where the set was acquired.

Sale ONLY in Europe (EU).

See details and dimensions in the description and attached images. Due to factors such as lighting conditions at the time of photography, the color of the object(s) may vary slightly from the original. A copy of the certificate(s) of authenticity and a copy of the catalog, if the object(s) are listed in it, will be sent with the object(s).
The data and other information provided are those supplied by the gallery where the object(s) were acquired. According to this information: The pieces that make up the catalog, whether individual items, collections, or lots, are considered genuine and traded ethically and professionally. We have Spanish and international specialists from the various admission committees of works at national and international antique fairs.

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