Doctor's shop sign, China, before 1936

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Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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Doctor's shop sign, China, before 1936. Science Museum, London. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). Source: Wellcome Collection.

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The Chinese characters inscribed on the wooden sign translate into English as ‘Doctor for treating miscellaneous diseases’. 25 human teeth are threaded on each of the half metre-long threads. It is unknown why human teeth are used on this doctor’s sign. They likely indicate the doctor specialised in tooth pulling. The human teeth were a visual aid for people who could not read to identify the doctor’s trade. maker: Unknown maker Place made: China

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