By Joy Neighbors
Long
before Burke and Hare’s body snatching business or resurrectionists began stealing
bodies from the graveyard, medical doctors in the 17th century had
an intriguing way to see inside the body using small anatomical sculptures
carved from ivory.
These
tiny manikins are believed to have been carved in German during the 1600s. Each
is a reclining figure between 4 to 8-inches long with removable abdominal walls
and internal organs. Most manikins are of the female body, which could have
assisted in the explanation of pregnancy and childbirth. Use of the manikins
waned in the 18th century and was replaced with wax models and
cadavers. Over time, these once state-of-the-art medical images became rather
bizarre trinkets and collectors items for the rich.
Little
has been known of their origins until recently when researchers using micro-CT
identified that the material used was ivory. Before the tests it was thought
they might have been carved fro a combination of wale bone, deer antler and
ivory.
Today,
the largest collection of ivory manikins can be found at Duke University in
Durham, North Carolina where 22 of 180 known manikins are kept. Purchased by
Duke thoracic surgeon Josiah Trent and his wife in the 1930s and 40’s – years
before the ivory ban of 1989 went into effect – the fragile artifacts have been
stored in the library’s vault. 
The
manikins are extremely life-like and hinged, which would have made them
beneficial in the study of various diseases during the late 1700s.
Not
only are the manikins a look into the medical practices of the 17th
century, but today the ivory dolls are also viewed as artistic creations.
Other
locations for the rare manikins are The New York Academy of Medicine Library,
which is home to seven manikins, including a rare male and female pair. And at least one female manikin from the Special Collections and Rare Books at the University of Missouri Libraries.
(Photos
from Special Collections and Rare Books, University of Missouri Libraries)
