Cleveland Museum of Art

Mouse

Date

1–200 CE

Medium

bronze

Culture

Italy, Rome

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The Romans were the first people in antiquity to make large numbers of genre sculptures for no purpose other than household decoration. This mouse may have been just such a knick-knack or it may have ornamented a metal food container laying claim to its contents so that other mice would stay away. Small mouse figurines were often affixed to oil lamps to ward off living mice that might eat the wicks or lamp oil

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