Glass strigil (scraper)
Translucent blue green.
Handle in the form of a long hollow cylinder, expanding slightly downwards; the curved blade or scrapper section has been tooled flat with a deep indent running down its length on the upper side, ending in a rounded tip.
Top of handle broken and missing; pinprick and small elongated bubbles; dulling, pitting, and iridescent weathering, with some soil encrustation and thicker weathering on interior.
A small number of glass strigils are known, including a group found in a tomb in Cologne, Germany. They were not practical scrapers for use at the baths but were symbolic gifts for the dead, who, it was believed, could use them in the afterlife.
Handle in the form of a long hollow cylinder, expanding slightly downwards; the curved blade or scrapper section has been tooled flat with a deep indent running down its length on the upper side, ending in a rounded tip.
Top of handle broken and missing; pinprick and small elongated bubbles; dulling, pitting, and iridescent weathering, with some soil encrustation and thicker weathering on interior.
A small number of glass strigils are known, including a group found in a tomb in Cologne, Germany. They were not practical scrapers for use at the baths but were symbolic gifts for the dead, who, it was believed, could use them in the afterlife.
Artwork Details
- Title: Glass strigil (scraper)
- Period: Late Imperial
- Date: 3rd–4th century CE
- Culture: Roman
- Medium: Glass; blown and tooled
- Dimensions: length 7 15/16 in. (20.2 cm); width 1 1/16 in. (2.7 cm)
- Classification: Glass
- Credit Line: Bequest of Mary Anna Palmer Draper, 1915
- Object Number: 15.43.197
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
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3rd century CE
late 1st–2nd century CE
ca. 50–80 CE
Ennion
1st half of 1st century CE
2nd century CE
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