Site display: Normal | Text Only

My Collection | About Us | Teachers

Find objects

Select from more than one or two options below:

Objects search

Can't find what you're looking for? Try the search below.

Copy of forceps made from an Egyptian sculpture, Kom-Ombos, Egypt, 1901-1936

Forceps can be used for a number of applications that involve gripping something large. This example is a bronze replica made from a sculpture found in the birth chamber at Kom-Ombos in Egypt. It is not known what the original forceps were intended for, but they may have assisted women during childbirth. The unusual double temple at Kom-Ombos was created during the Ptolemaic era about 180 BCE. It contains a very early engraving depicting surgical instruments including forceps such as these. The temple had its own large birth chamber; a feature unique to Ptolemaic temples. The birth house was mostly swept away by the Nile in the 1800s, but some ruins can still be seen.

Object number:




Glossary: measurement


Glossary: obstetrics


Glossary: obstetrical forceps


Glossary: replica
