Ancient Roman, Empire Bronze Set of three instruments: a small spoon and two styluses – 1st–3rd centuries AD - 200 mm (No reserve price)

Set of three Roman bronze instruments: spoon and two styluses – 1st–3rd centuries AD.

Attributed culture: Roman Empire
Proposed chronology: 1st–3rd centuries AD
Material: Copper alloy (bronze)
Composition: Three instruments

An interesting set of three bronze Roman-tradition instruments, representative of the small utensils used in daily activities during the imperial era.

The first piece consists of a delicate spoon with a circular, slightly concave bowl, attached to a long handle that gradually narrows to end in a fine point. This design allowed handling small quantities of substances and is documented among Roman domestic and medicinal utensils.

Completing the set are two elongated bronze instruments, with narrow bodies and differentiated ends: one fine and the other widened and flattened, a configuration characteristic of the styluses used to write on wax-coated tablets.

These tablets constituted one of the common writing supports in the Roman world, used for annotations, commercial accounts, correspondence, and administrative activities. The pointed tip of the stylus allowed tracing letters, while the broader end served to smooth the wax and correct what had been written.

The three pieces preserve interesting surfaces with patinas of different tones, from dark brown and ochre to the green typical of bronze corrosion, offering an attractive visual contrast.

An evocative set of Roman archaeology that illustrates two essential aspects of life in Antiquity: the use of small specialized utensils and the everyday practice of writing.

Their typological diversity and joint presentation make them an appealing lot for collectors of ancient instruments and objects linked to daily life in the Roman Empire.