The Science and Art of Medicine
On Display
Medicine chest, used by Livingstone on his last journey, 1874, small, leather, with drugs, including some from Treacher of Bombay and Poona, in 17 glass bottles, a lancet, caustic pencil, one brass weight and a folder plaster, 11860-1874
Italian pharmacy vase, 18th century polychrome maiolica made at Castelli, used for lily water
This particular straight stem pessary (illustrated in the top row on the far right) is made out of glass. Stem pessaries are intra-uterine devices.
A painted plaster statue of Dhanvantari, the Hindu god of medicine. Dhanvantari is said to have revealed the secrets of Ayurveda, and here he is shown carrying the elixir of life in a white container. Today, Ayurvedic doctors and their patients belon
An enema syringe with a cloth carrying bag, purchased from India in 2005. An enema (vasthi) introduces fluid into the lower bowel via the anus. A single Ayurvedic treatment might involve several enemas using oils mixed with different medicinal herbs
A copper bowl with chains for suspension, known as a dhara chatti. It is used in Ayurvedic shirodhara therapy, where warm oil from a suspended pot is slowly poured onto the forehead. Usually prescribed for illnesses affecting the head, it is increas
A stainless steel nasal oil applicator, purchased in 2005. Medicinal oils are poured directly into the nose during panchakarma, an Ayurvedic therapy. This treatment specifically targets health problems of the head, such as migraine, eye complaints an
Made from the wood and bark of the trees they pictured, the panel depicts a plant which is important in Japanese culture.
Rynd's hypodermic syringe, steel with ivory handle, in maroon leatherette case, by Weiss, London.
Albarello vase, Italian, from Rome or Deruta, 1641, polychrome maiolica, used for theriaca by the Jesuits