Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Razor with Hercules
(Roman Empire )
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
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris, by purchase [date of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1911, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 1947 | Early Christian and Byzantine Art. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 8/8/1983 | Treatment | other |
Measurements
3 9/16 x 2 3/8 x 7/16 in. (9 x 6 x 1.1 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1911
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
71.2