On Display
A woven string bag containing objects used for divination. The bag contains thirty-six objects including animal bones, pebbles, nut kernels and a hoof, each of which means something specific to a diviner. The objects are thrown onto a mat and the pat
Granite Kohl pot and stick, Egyptian, 1800BC to 200BC. Make-up was in common use in Ancient Egypt and focused particularly on the eye, in order to replicate the appearance of the sun god, Re. Kohl eyeliner was frequently used to achieve this effect.
Pharmacy storage, jar, French, Hustin factory, 1725-1775, polychrome faience, used for bugloss by Carmelites
Tin-glazed earthenware drug jar, peacock motif, used for hiera picra electuary, by the Porcelain Dish factory, Dutch, 1723-1763
Full view. Artificial nose, made of plated metal, from the 17th or 18th century. Such noses would have been made to replace an original, which may have been congenitally absent or deformed, lost through accident or during combat or due to a degener
Wooden figure of Saint Cosmas, probably French, 1801-1900. St. Cosmas and his twin brother St. Damian are the patron saints of physicians. They were physicians who would not accept payment for treatment, an act of charity which converted many people
Oak statue of St Sebastian, believed to originate from the lower Rhennish (Rhine) area of Germany, possibly 1501-1600. Little is known for sure about his life, other than that he was a martyr who was buried on the Appian Way near Rome, in the third c
Bourdalon female urinal, blue and white, c. 1805, Spode
This is a wax model of the human heart, sectioned to illustrate the interior structure of the organ. Sir Thomas Lewis (1881-1945) made and used this model in his research into the human cardiovascular system in England.
An amuletic necklace made of horn, claw, nuts and metal, strung together on a leather thong. It is common to put medicine in an animal horn, and necklace charms are often worn around the neck as protection against illness and ill fortune.
