Uni’s historic casts set to go on display

TEN plaster casts of a dissected pregnant womb dating from the 18th century are to go on display in Glasgow for the first time.

The casts have been held in storage at the University of Glasgow’s Hunterian Museum but will form part of a major exhibition next year.

They were made for the museum’s founder, the world-famous anatomist William Hunter, for teaching purposes, and have been in need of conservation.

The Hunterian has been given £60,000, from Museum Galleries Scotlaand which will allow the plaster casts to go on display for the firs time.

Four Glasgow museums are among the 15 from across Scotland who will benefit from £600,000 of funding.

Born in Long Calderwood in East Kilbride in 1718, William Hunter was instrumental in improving the practice of obstetrics and establishing it as a medical discipline. He studied at Glasgow University from 1731 to 1736 and became a leading anatomist and medical teacher after moving to London in 1741.

He was appointed Physician Extraordinary to Queen Charlotte from 1764-1783 and died in 1783, aged 64.

A study published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine has suggested that William and his brother John carried out ‘burking’ – killing in order to procure a body for dissection.

The Hunters were notorious for their seemingly inexhaustible supply of cadavers at William’s school in London’s Covent Garden.

Mungo Campbell, acting director of the Hunterian, said: “We are thrilled that this support from MGS will enable 21stcentury audiences to engage with a group of truly unique objects at the very heart of our recognised collections.”