Description of and remarks upon an ancient calvaria from China, which has been supposed to be that of Confucius / by George Busk.

  • George Busk
Date:
[1870?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Description of and remarks upon an ancient calvaria from China, which has been supposed to be that of Confucius / by George Busk. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    than an object in the “ Department of Goldsmiths’ Work and Jewellery,” in the Chinese Court. This consisted of the upper portion of a human skull, richly mounted in gold and jewels. The object is briefly described and flgured in Mr. Waring’s ‘ Masterpieces of Industrial Art ’ (vol. hi. pi. 291). “ The skull is placed on a triangular stand of pure gold, and rests on three very roughly shaped gold heads; the cover, also of pru’e gold, is richly ornamented with minute patterns in low relief, and is studded with small precious stones. The ornament [ornamen- tation ?] itself presents nothing peculiar, the principal portion of it being formed by the usual conventional mode of represent- ing clouds or sky, typical perhaps of the region to which the soul of the deceased had flown.” In the same work it is also stated that the object was taken from the Summer Palace of the Emperor by one of Fane’s Cavalry, and at the time of the Exhibition was the property of P. M. Tait, Esq. Of this extraordinary and beautiful piece of Chinese work- manship nothing now remains except the portion of skull upon whose preservation and adornment such great pains and art had been bestowed. With the most astounding stupidity the gold has been melted down for its mere weight as bullion, and one of the most interesting and curious relics of Chinese art and history has thus been irretrievably lost. The remaining relic has lately come into the hands of my friend Mr. Mummery, with whose permission it is now laid before the Society. From such a small portion of course little can be deduced as to the general characters of the entire calvawa. But it is suffi- cient to show that the individual to whom it belonged was a man probably advanced in life, and, so far as his bones were con- cerned, of delicate make. The cranial bone generally is thin ; and scarcely any appearanee of a diploe remains. The sutures, though distinct enough, are closed, and the lower portions of the coronal on either side completely obliterated. 1. Norma lateralis (PI. XI. fig. 1).—On the side view the skull presents an elevated vertex, the summit of which corresponds to about the middle of the sagittal suture. The upper part of the frontal bone is somewhat depressed. 2. Norma verticalis (Fig. 2).—^The vertical aspect presents an oval outline, slightly compressed at the situation of the coronal suture. r 3. Norma frontalis (Fig. 3).—In the front view the outline is somewhat pyramidal, a form that is still more manifest in the 4. Norma occipitalis (Fig. 4) or occipital aspect.