Strigil

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Strigil

Artist Unidentified

Place of OriginGreece, found in Egypt

Date400-300 BCE

Dimensions9 3/8 × 2 5/8 × 1 in. (23.8 × 6.7 × 2.5 cm)

Mediumbronze

ClassificationUtilitarian Objects

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1906.197

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

Collections

Decorative Arts

Exhibition HistoryThe Dayton Art Institute, The Roman World: Religions and Everyday Life (featuring the Brooklyn Museum exhibition Tree of Paradise: Jewish Mosaics from the Roman Empire), Sept. 21, 2007 - Jan. 6, 2008.Label TextAncient Greek male athletes exercised and competed naked. Before exercising, they rubbed scented olive oil on their skin to keep the dirt out of the pores of the skin and perhaps also to avoid sunburn. After exercising, they used an instrument called a strigil to scrape off the oil, sweat, and dirt accumulated at the palaestra (gymnasium). Vase painters often show strigils, sponges, and small oil flasks in scenes of athletes.