Dr. Ralph and Mrs. Olga Crawford Canadian Dental Collection
Category
Diagnostic & Treatment Artifacts
Classification
Dental
Accession Number
010020453 a-h
Description
Reproduction Roman medical instruments housed in custom wood rectangular box with clear glass top (g) with removable bottom (f) that has a red velvet base where the tools rest in custom recesses; forceps (a) are two pieces of bronze with cylindrical handles with rope motif, end of forceps are curve…
Reproduction Roman medical instruments housed in custom wood rectangular box with clear glass top (g) with removable bottom (f) that has a red velvet base where the tools rest in custom recesses; forceps (a) are two pieces of bronze with cylindrical handles with rope motif, end of forceps are curved together, operates scissor fashion; shears (b) one solid piece of bronze metal curved with two triangular blades at each end, spring compression; chisel (c) single piece of bronze cylindrical base that tapers, while the other end is rectangular and then curves slightly at the top, a rectangular piece juts off one side; elevator (d) is a double ended bronze tool that is curved at each end in opposite directions, centre grip is cylindrical; cautery (e) is a single piece of bronze with a flat end and a curved stem; paper tag (h) is ivory coloured piece of stock with brown font typed fastened with brown thread; brass plaque attached to middle of box with description.
Number Of Parts
8
Part Names
a – forceps – Length 20.0 cm x Width 5.5 cm x Depth 1.8 cm
b – shears – Length 9.5 cm x Width 2.0 cm x Depth 1.0 cm
c – chisel – Length 11.5 cm x Width 2.9 cm x Depth 0.9 cm
d – elevator– Length 15.2 cm x Width 1.5 cm x Depth 1.1 cm
e – cautery– Length 20.0 cm x Width 2.0 cm x Depth 2.8 cm
f – box bottom – Length 26.9 cm x Width 24.9 cm x Depth 2.4 cm
g – box top with glass – Length 27.3 cm x Width 29.9 cm x Depth 4.5 cm
h – tag – Length 8.9 cm x Width 6.4 cm
Provenance
Transfer from the Dental Canada Fund; previously housed in the Dentistry Canada Museum (Ottawa)
On brass plaque: "MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS - ROMAN // circa 79 A.D. // Cast in solid bronze from the originals which were // buried in the city of Pompeii by the eruption of // Mt. Vesuvius, August 24, 79 A.D. // forceps // shears chisel // elevator // cautery"; on tag: "MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS // Roman - Circa 79 A.D. // Crafted replicas - A Collectors item in Their Own Right // These five medical instrument are part of a set // presently in the collection of a museum connected // with a well-known Northeastern medical school. // The originals were buried in Pompeii by the eruption // of Mt. Vesuvius, August 24, 79 A.D. Our // replicas have been cast directly from the originals // in a closely matched bronze alloy each then being // carefully hand patined to the same finish found // on the originals and other bronzes of the era. // INSTRUMENTS: Forceps: fully operational; Elevator: two sides; Shears: as was the original // the bend has been work-hardened on an anvil to // impart spring tension, fully operational; Chisel: // not sharpened, was probably also used as scalpel; Cautery."
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-C6-4
Temporary Location
On loan to MHC Education Collection 2018 for Education Program 'Medicine in Ancient Times'.
Condition Remarks
Like new
Copy Type
Replica
Reference Types
Website
Reference Comments
University of Virginia. "Surgical Instruments from Ancient Rome." University of Virginia, 2007.
Research Facts
Dr Ralph and Mrs Olga Crawford donated their extensive Canadian dental collection to the DCF to create the museum in 1997; further donations were received while Dr Crawford was Curator Emeritus at the Dental Canada Museum until its closure in 2008.
These instruments are reproductions of actual Roman medical instruments buried in Pompeii on August 24, 79 A.D. by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. These replicas were produced by using casts of the original instruments and consist of a bronze alloy finished with paint to simulate the appearance of bronzes from the time.
The set includes five medical instruments with a variety of purposes. The forceps, or bone forceps, were mainly used to extract fractured bone fragments from the body. The shears, or medical scissors, had many applications, but research suggests that they were used less for cutting tissue, and more for cutting hair, which was widely seen as a medical or therapeutic procedure. The chisel, or osteotome, was mainly used to cut bone but may have also been used as a scalpel. The elevator, or bone lever, was used to move fractured bones into position, or possibly also used to remove teeth. The cautery had a variety of uses in ancient medicine, but was most commonly used as haemostatic to stop bleeding (cauterization).