Greek Silver Medical Implement with Snake Handle
4th-3rd century B.C. A silver and copper-alloy medical instrument, oval in shape, the handle formed as a snake with shallow hatched pattern on the body representing scales, stylised rendering of the snake's head. Cf. Milne, J.S., Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman times, Oxford, 1907, pl.XI,4, for a spatula with a similar snake handle. 68 grams, 25 cm long (10 in.). Acquired mid 1980s to early 1990s.Private family collection formed in London, UK.Accompanied by a metal test assessment number 182971/HM1456 from an Oxford specialist. The use of this spatula (probe) for medical assessment can be confirmed by its snake-shaped handle, evidently a reference to the god Asklepios, whose symbol was a staff with a serpent wrapped around it. Such implements, called '?????????', were used in the Graeco-Persian world. The survival of the handle in this example makes it a rare find.