Explore early approaches to medical treatment and self-care with an incredible range of objects dating from as early as 4000 BCE to around 500CE, many from Rome and Egypt.
Classical & Medieval Medicine
200-400
Two small bronze votive tears, possibly Roman, 200BC-400AD
200BCE-200CE
Small votive organ of unknown type, built up from coiled strips of terracotta, probably Roman, 200BCE-200BC
Stone votive penis
1340-1350 CE
Lead mortuary cross from victim of the Great Plague of 1348, unsigned, English, 1340-1350.
1901-1930
Etruscan denture, 2 teeth, copy, the original from a tomb
1000-400 BCE
Bronze figurine of Osiris, Egyptian, 1000-400 BCE
200 BCE-400 CE
Ring pessary, bronze, Roman
1701-1900
Carved wooden marker, decorated, Middle East, 1701-1900
850-501
Feeding bottle, earthenware, with geometric decoration, Greek, from Cyprus, 850BC-501BC
200BCE-400CE
Votive hair, carved from marble, probably Roman, 200BC-400AD. Hung in temple or shrine to promote growth of hair on bald pate.
200 BCE -200 CE
Votive right leg and foot, terracotta, unsigned, probably Roman, 200BC-200AD
200-200
Votive heart(?), terracotta, probably Roman, 200BC to 200AD
Pottery drug jar, ovoid, with parchment cover, possibly Persian
Votive placenta, terracotta, Italy, 200BC to 200AD
Votive bladder, terracotta, Etrusco-Roman, 200BC-200AD
White marble votive finger, bent at knuckle, possibly Roman, 200BC-200
Pottery drug jar, bluish-green, ovoid, with parchment, cover possibly Persian
Votive left hand, terracotta, Roman, 200BC-200AD
1700-1850
Wooden statue of Saint Francis de Sales, patron saint of writers and journalists, French (?), 1700-1850
votive female head, terracotta, Roman, 200BC-200AD
Votive breast, terracotta, probably Roman, 200BC-200AD
400-200
Votive right hand, terracotta, hollow with open base, probably Roman, 400BC-200AD
Pottery drug jar, ovoid body, with parchment cover, possibly Persian
400-100
Votive testicle, terracotta, solid, probably Roman, 400BC-100AD
Wooden figure of Saint Isidore, patron of agricultural workers, possibly French, 1700-1850
Pottery drug jar, bluish-green, ovoid, with parchment cover, possibly Persian
Bronze amuletic pendant, shaped like cowrie shell, probably erotic symbol, in display box with others, probably Roman, from Italy, 200BC -200AD
Earthenware drug jar, with parchment lid, with vivid turquoise glaze, Persian
Feeding bottle, or drinking cup earthenware, with spout in the form of a dogs head, Islamic
Before 1932
Pottery drug jar, bluish green, ovoid, with parchment cover, possibly Persian
Votive uterus, wrinkled, terracotta, Italy, 200BC-200AD
300-200
Votive trachea, terracotta, reputedly from Catania, Sicily, 300BC-200AD
100-350 CE
Water pipe, pottery, found at York, Roman period, 100-350
199 BCE-500 CE
Thigh tourniquet, bronze, Roman, from Hamonic collection
2050-1750 BCE
Babylonian clay liver used for divination, c.2050-1750 BC, copy, 1981
1601-1700
Metal and wood fumigating torch (copy), carried around for protection against bubonic plague, 17th century
Metal and wood fumigating torch (copy), carried around for personal protection against bubonic plague, 17th century
1401-1600 CE
Elm section of a cylindrical pipe, originally part of an underground water pipe laid in the west of London during the 15th or 16th century.
800-100 BCE
Bronze toiletry mirror, Egyptian, 800BC-100BC.
1750-1850
Wooden figure of Job with an affliction of boils, possibly German, 1750-1850
199-79
Vaginal speculum, bronze, said to be from Pompeii, Roman, 199BC-79AD, possibly 20th century copy
1860-1920
Bronze replica of a Greek(?) statue, depicts the early Greek physician Hippocrates, original Greek(?), 4th to 2nd centuries BC, replica 1860-1920
Wooden statue depicting an emaciated figure suffering from plague lying on the ground surrounded by a frog and a lizard possibly 17th century
1800-200 BCE
Granite Kohl pot and stick, Egyptian, 1800BC to 200BC
650-350 BCE
Ivory inlaid wooden toilet box, Egyptian, 650BC to 350BC
1900-1938
Three of four cranial crochets, copies, used for removing the brain prior to embalming, originals Egyptian, 2000-101BC
1925-1933
Plaster replica of bronze statue of Theoris, Egyptian, 1925-1933
1650-1575 BCE
Marble pestle and mortar, Egyptian, 1650BC-1575BC
200 BCE-200 CE
Votive statue of woman and child breastfeeding, terracotta, probably Roman, 200BC-200AD
Surgical shears, bronze, Roman
