A bronze razor of half-moon shape, characterised by the concave curve of the blade, a ring handle with two simplified birds' heads and by a lightly incised decoration consisting of radiant rays below the inner half-moon. Grotta Gramicella Type A.
 
While bronze razors are found throughout the whole of Italy and also in Sicily, models in half-moon shape are particularly numerous in Etruria Villanovan: Circa 9th-8th century BC.
 
Provenance: English private collection; acquired on the European art market, 1990s. Previously offered at Bertolami Fine Art auction number 43: Lot 72 (estimate £2000-£3000)
 
Literature: See item 19: The Art Of The Italic Peoples From 3000 to 300 BC: Electa Napoli. See also Abb 2.19: Die Etrusker Von Villanova Bis Rom: Marcel Danner
 
According to the Archaeological Museum of Bologna: The bronze razor is a toilet tool exclusively for male use, frequently placed in grave goods. Even though rare, however, its discovery in storage spaces and inhabited areas excludes the possibility that it was used only for ritual and funeral purposes.
 
The use of this tool to take care of the male beard and hair, upon which the first discoverers had already made assumptions in the 19th century based on ethnographic comparisons, has been corroborated by the discovery of at least one sample that still had a few remainders of beard hair stuck to blade.
 
It is possible to attribute a razor not only a practical function, but also a symbolic significance, feasibly associated with the coming of age, since the object is frequently set down in male sepulchres.