Cast of small intestine

Made:
1880-1930 in unknown place
Cast of small intestine, plaster, Italian(?), 1880-1930 Group photograph

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

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

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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

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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

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

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Cast of small intestine, plaster, Italian(?), 1880-1930
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Group photograph
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Cast of small intestine, plaster, Italian(?), 1880-1930

This cast was made over a hundred years ago and it belonged to Sir Henry Wellcome’s medical artifact collection. It is believed that it represents the large intestine or viscera (the internal organs contained within the abdomen). Greek and Roman votive offerings date back as early as 400 BCE and were made of terracotta (fired clay) and left in temples and sanctuaries to either request help or express gratitude to the gods for curing a certain ailment or illness. Votives could take the form of body parts, people, or animals. However, because these societies didn’t practice human dissection or postmortem examinations it is hard to determine how they modelled the internal organs. Votives were mass-produced from moulds and sold in the proximity of temples or shrines where they were either hung, displayed, or buried in sacred pits.

Details

Category:
Classical & Medieval Medicine
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A85145
Materials:
plaster
Measurements:
overall: 145 mm x 290 mm x 350 mm,
type:
votive viscera