Phrenological bust
Object No. 85/256
Would you believe a phrenologist's claims about your personality based on feeling the bumps on your skull? This bust was made in the 1850s by Lorenzo Fowler, a leading exponent of the pseudo-science of phrenology. He exploited gaps in understanding of the brain's functions at a time when scientists were debating whether they occur in fixed brain regions. Neuroscientists now think that most functions depend on both localisation and interconnection between regions, but there has never been any evidence that feeling skull bumps gives insight into our most complex organ. Debbie Rudder
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Summary
Object Statement
Phrenological bust, ceramic, made by L N Fowler, London, England, 1879-1896
Physical Description
Ceramic phrenological bust, white with transfer lettering, black and blue lining.
DIMENSIONS
Height
300 mm
Width
145 mm
Depth
165 mm
HISTORY
Notes
Viennese physician Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828) proposed that the contours of the skull followed the brain's shape, each region controlling an aspect of personality or behaviour. Feeling the lumps was like reading the mind. He called his system organology, but it was later known as phrenology, derived from the Greek 'phren': mind. By the 1850s interest in phrenology had declined, but the American brothers Lorenzo N Fowler (1811-1896) and Orson S Fowler (1809-1887) revived it in the 1860s. Their phrenological head provided a three-dimensional reference guide to assist the reading of a subject's skull. The Fowlers lectured throughout Britain and established several phrenological institutions and societies. Bascially the study of Phrenology was driven by the desire to understand our mysterious brain - and to make money.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Purchased 1985
Acquisition Date
27 February 1985
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