Description
Countless anatomical museums emerged in Europe from the 18th century onwards, only to subsequently disappear. Some were dismantled, rearranged, some were deliberately destroyed, some were lost due to poor storage, lack of funding and a scarcity of qualified curators. Luckily, in some cases, anatomical collections survived thanks to private initiatives of individuals who saw in them unique and rich medical and cultural heritage.One example of such survival is the private collection of Arthur von Hochstetter (1918-1997), a professor of anatomy at the Department of Clinical Anatomy at Kantonsspital Basel. His anatomical collection consists of several thousand once abandoned anatomical specimens that he rescued and they date from the early 18th century to the 1970's. Up until the present day, the collection has been housed under the auspices of Hoffmann-La Roche in Basel, Switzerland and curated by Hochstetters' successor, Oscar Baldomero.
In 2022, Oscar Baldomero donated 35 selected objects from this collection for display in the RSU Anatomy museum. Donated specimens represent the anatomical techniques used for body preservation and anatomical representation from the 18th century to the early 20th century. Some specimens can undoubtedly shock, but this was never their intended purpose. As stated by Oscar Baldomero (Tales from the Anatomy theatre, 2011), these specimens should always be viewed in light of the historical context in which they were collected and prepared. This paper deals with the collection from the perspective of museology, considering the narratives and ethics of such display within a public museum.
| Period | 31 Mar 2023 |
|---|---|
| Event title | RSU Research Week 2023: Research Week 2023 Rīga Stradiņš University |
| Event type | Conference |
| Organiser | Riga Stradins University |
| Location | Riga, LatviaShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |