Ivory phrenological head, Europe, 1910-1925

Made:
1910-1925 in Europe
Ivory phrenological head, with areas marked off and labelled Ivory phrenological head, with areas marked off and labelled Ivory phrenological head, with areas marked off and labelled

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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 

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

License

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

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

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

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

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

Details

Category:
Psychology, Psychiatry & Anthropometry
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A157056
Materials:
ivory
type:
phrenological head
credit:
Glendining