Theme 287.
Close up of the Giustiniani Medicine Chest (Genoese, c. 1565), in the History of Medicine exhibit in the Science Museum, London. As part of my GCSE History course (taken aged 15-16), my class studied the history of medicine, from prehistoric times, through the egyptian, roman and greek, medieval, victorian and modern day. It was fascinating, and I loved it - and it left me with a longstanding interest in the particular subject.
I've been through a museum on the history of medicine in Riga, Latvia, and when I saw the Science Museum in London had an exhibit, I started my visit to the museum with that. The exhibit notice says:
The Giustiniani Medicine Chest
Genoese, c.1565
This medicine chest was made for Vincenzo Giustiniani (d.1570), the last Genoese governor of the island of Chios in the eastern Aegean Sea. He ruled Chios from 1562 until the Turks expelled the Genoese in 1566 after an occupation of some two hundred years. On a box from the middle drawer is painted the device of Chios: a black eagle above a three-towered castle.
The chest still holds 126 bottles and pots for drugs, some of which appear to have 16th century contents. The painting on the inside of the lid, however, dates from somewhat later. The chest was owned by the Giustiniani family until bought by Henry Wellcome in 1924.
Genoese, c.1565
This medicine chest was made for Vincenzo Giustiniani (d.1570), the last Genoese governor of the island of Chios in the eastern Aegean Sea. He ruled Chios from 1562 until the Turks expelled the Genoese in 1566 after an occupation of some two hundred years. On a box from the middle drawer is painted the device of Chios: a black eagle above a three-towered castle.
The chest still holds 126 bottles and pots for drugs, some of which appear to have 16th century contents. The painting on the inside of the lid, however, dates from somewhat later. The chest was owned by the Giustiniani family until bought by Henry Wellcome in 1924.
(There is a wing of the museum named after the Wellcome family (or is it trust?), so I'm guessing they've been financial and object donors)
A more general photo:
5 comments:
Both of these photos are great but the top one is just fantastic! The composition and color and light is so perfect. Thanks for the great explanation, too...
That's SO COOL! I need to come over to Europe and get my history fix....America only goes back so far :/
This is great, and thanks for the explanation. You got some great shots on your weekend and very diverse too :0).
oh, way cool. What a great find this was. Love the warm tones and compostion.
Your trip to the museum really paid off for some wonderful photos! I love the color and light in the first one. Beautiful, really!
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