Wellcome uses cookies.

Read our policy
Wellcome Collection homepage
All
Stories
Images
Catalogue
Events

Stories

  • Article

Genius spirits and the mystery of creative inspiration

Once upon a time, we all had a genius.

  • Article

Close encounters of the spiritualist kind

When it comes to practical and emotional advice, Daphne heeds the words of her lost loved ones. Find out how a spiritualist medium helps her stay in touch.

  • Article

Womb milk and the puzzle of the placenta

A human baby needs milk to survive – and this holds true even before it’s born. Joanna Wolfarth explores “womb milk”, as well as ancient and modern ideas about the placenta.

  • Article

Robinson Crusoe and the morality of solitude

Robinson Crusoe, fiction’s most famous castaway, was certainly isolated, but did he suffer the intrinsically modern affliction of loneliness?

All stories (18)

Images

  • A woman in a garden with some flowers; in the background God blows spirit into Adam's body; representing the sense of smell. Engraving by N. de Bruyn after M. de Vos.
  • Nepal; street of dentists, Kathmandu 1986. In 1982, there were 17 government-trained dental surgeons in Nepal, some of whom practised in this street. For those too fearful or who could not afford to visit one of these surgeries, a nearby shrine was dedicated to Vaisha Dev, the god of toothache. Surrounding the god was a plank of wood into which thousands of nails had been driven. Planting a nail was believed to get rid of toothache by pinning down all evil spirits and influences.
  • Satan and the sons of God appear before God and challenge him to induce Job to curse God. Engraving by P .Galle, 1563, after M. van Heemskerck.
  • The garden of Eden illuminated by light symbolising the Trinity. Engraving by A. Collaert after H. Bol.
  • The Holy Shroud of Turin; above, mourning angels beside the Cross. Coloured etching.
  • Representatives of four religions, labelled as religious fanatics. Etching.
  • John baptises Christ in the Jordan. Engraving by P. Galle, 1564, after M. van Heemskerck.
  • Residents of Ephesus burn their books on the magic arts before Saint Paul. Engraving, 18th century, after J. Thornhill.
  • The bowed woman cured by Christ. Engraving by J.P. Saenredam after H. Goltzius, 159- (?).
  • Vertebral column with dissections of nerves and blood vessels, with skin (?) in the background, and (left) the figure of a man representing Ecclesiastes, the whole being an illustration of Ecclesiastes XII, 6 "the silver cord". Drawing attributed to Johann Melchior Füssli, ca. 1730.
All images (20)

Catalogue

All works (560)