Accession No
2744
Brief Description
creamware ceramic phrenological head (bust), by Lorenzo N. Fowler, English, late 19th Century
Origin
England; London; Ludgate Circus
Maker
Fowler, Lorenzo N.
Class
biology; physiology; demonstration
Earliest Date
1879
Latest Date
1896
Inscription Date
Material
ceramic (creamware)
Dimensions
height 290mm; breadth 139mm; depth 150mm
Special Collection
Provenance
Transferred from Whipple Library, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, 24/03/1981
Inscription
‘PHRENOLOGY
BY
L. N. FOWLER.’ (on front)
‘ENTERED AT
STATIONERS HALL.’ (on left side)
‘L.N. FOWLER
LUDGATE CIRCUS
LONDON.’ (on right side)
‘For thirty years I have studied Crania and living heads
from all parts of the world, and have found in every
instance that there is a perfect correspondance between
the conformation of the healthy skull of an individual
and his known characteristics. To make my obser-
vations availiable I have prepared a Bust of superior
form and marked the divisions of the Organs in accor-
dance with my researches and varied experience.
L.N. Fowler.’ (on back)
Description Notes
Creamware ceramic phrenological head (bust), by Lorenzo Fowler, English, c. 1850.
Creamware; white glaze, over glaze transfer inscriptions and blue highlighting. Left side of head filled with numerous characteristics but few on the right.
Condition good (some staining on glaze); complete.
References
Events
Description
At the end of the eighteenth century, Franz Joseph Gall (1758–1828) developed his theories on Organology and Cranioscopy to claim that pressures exerted by the brain shaped the geography of the skull. By studying the surface of the head, Gall believed he could determine the moral and mental faculties of an individual. When Johann Gaspar Spurzheim (1776–1832), Gall’s former assistant, gave a public lecture on the subject in 1814, Spurzheim called the theory ‘Phrenology’. Lorenzo Niles Fowler (1811–1896) and his brother Orson Fowler (1809–1887) greatly contributed to the cultivation and popularization of the science in the second half of the nineteenth century. The phrenological bust that Lorzeno produced is perhaps the most familiar object associated with the science. Forty-three main organs were marked on the head, and many of these have further subdivisions. Small imprinted dots as well as grooves delineate various organs. The text was likely printed with a tissue transfer. After the death of his wife in 1879, Fowler set up offices in the Imperial Buildings, Ludgate Circus. As this bust was printed with the Ludgate Circus address, it was likely produced between 1879 and 1896.
18/02/2014
Created by: Allison Ksiazkiewicz on 18/02/2014
FM:45532
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