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Source Description
The handle of this razor (now highly corroded) is formed by the curving body of a leopard framing Hercules, with his lion skin and club. Roman men liked to identify themselves with such heroic, mythological figures, just as women had their toilet articles decorated with images of Venus, the goddess of love. This piece could also have been a "strigil," used for scraping sweat and dirt from the skin after exercise or a steam bath.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
38888
label
Razor with Hercules
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
38888
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Razor with Hercules
description
The handle of this razor (now highly corroded) is formed by the curving body of a leopard framing Hercules, with his lion skin and club. Roman men liked to identify themselves with such heroic, mythological figures, just as women had their toilet articles decorated with images of Venus, the goddess of love. This piece could also have been a "strigil," used for scraping sweat and dirt from the skin after exercise or a steam bath.
provenance
Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris, by purchase [date of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1911, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
4th century (Late Antique)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Ivory & Bone
razors
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
9
height
6
depth
1.1
dimensionsRaw
3 9/16 x 2 3/8 x 7/16 in. (9 x 6 x 1.1 cm)
Source extras
cul
Roman
med
bone and iron
creator_ids
6191
collection_ids
ROM
exhibition_ids
358
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
af4b43b2b447ae80
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
ec604edf8ea5bed4
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no