VOLSELLAE
VOLSELLAE (
τριχολαβίς,
τριχολάβιον), a pair of tweezers (Plaut.
Curc. 4.4, 21;
Mart. 9.28,
5). The extent to which the practice of
pulling out hairs was carried, both among Greeks and Romans, has been
noticed under
PSILOTHRUM For
the slaves, both male and female, employed for this purpose, see
ALIPILUS Several examples of
ancient tweezers have been discovered; some joined with a rivet at the back
like scissors, others, as in the illustration, made of flexible metal
(Marquardt,
Privatl. 581; Becker-Göll,
Gallus, 3.241).
 |
|
Volsellae, tweezers; actual size. (From the Roman villa at
Brading, Isle of Wight; preserved on the spot.)
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Some of the smaller kinds of forceps used as surgical instruments are
likewise called volsellae by Celsus (6.12.1; 6.18.3; 7.10.7). One of these
is figured by Rich s.v. see also the cut No. 17 under
CHIRURGIA in Vol. I.
[
W.W]
