Ivory phrenological head, Europe, 1850-1914

Ivory phrenological head, with areas marked off Ivory phrenological head, with areas marked off Ivory phrenological head, with areas marked off Ivory phrenological head, with areas marked off

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

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Ivory phrenological head, with areas marked off
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Ivory phrenological head, with areas marked off
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Ivory phrenological head, with areas marked off
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Ivory phrenological head, with areas marked off
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Ivory phrenological head, with areas marked off, numbered and labelled, with circular pedestal

The skull of this ivory phrenological head has been marked off into sections and was used for phrenological consultations. Phrenologists believed that the shape and size of various areas of the brain (and therefore the overlying skull) determined personality. Although phrenology became popular with large numbers of people in the 1800s, it soon became controversial within medical circles, and was eventually dismissed by the medical profession as quackery.

Details

Category:
Psychology, Psychiatry & Anthropometry
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A642802
Materials:
ivory
type:
phrenological head
credit:
Wellcome Trust (Purchased from Stevens)