Set of 5 Surgical Instruments, Italy or France, 1700-1730

Set of 5 Surgical Instruments, produced in Italy or France, between approximately 1700 and 1730. These five instruments, all part of the same set, feature horn handles, which not only allow for a firmer grip than instruments made entirely of wrought iron in the 16th and 17th centuries, but also lend a certain prestige to these instruments. Indeed, as is well known, the most important physicians of the time commonly purchased or had instruments made, not only for practical purposes, but also for expressing their personal taste and "medical status" in an immediate and effective way.

These five instruments are for human anatomy, and are therefore very rare as they were used during actual surgical operations by physicians, not by apothecaries, who were more concerned with minor physical or dental procedures.

References:

The Wellcome Collection, London - Reference: 47339i - William Cheseldon giving an anatomical demonstration at the anatomy theater of the Barber-Surgeons' Company - Oil on canvas, British, c. 1730/1740 - Medicine Man, The Wellcome Collection, London