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Votive mouth and teeth, Roman, 200 BCE-200 CE
- Science Museum, London
- Digital Images
- Online
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Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
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Credit: Votive mouth and teeth, Roman, 200 BCE-200 CE. Science Museum, London. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
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About this work
Description
Objects like this were left at healing sanctuaries and other religious sites as offerings to gods such as Asklepios, the Greco-Roman god of medicine. It was intended either to indicate the part of the body that needed help or as thanks for a cure.
Made from bronze or terracotta, as in this case, a large range of different votive body parts were made and offered up in their thousands. Although it originated in earlier cultures, this practice became very popular in Roman Italy – particularly between the 400s and 100s BCE. The donor of this votive may have been experiencing toothache.
maker: Unknown maker
Place made: Roman Republic and Empire