French Papier Mâché Scientific Model of the Brain by Dr. Auzoux

Anatomical cut of one eye, composition in natural painted papier-maché, with numbered labels on the different elements / the opening eyeball to cover the removable pute. Pen annotati...

Anatomical cut of a human skull composed in natural painted papier-maché, with numbered labels on the different elements

Sinke & van Tongeren exhibited this extremely rare Auzoux Gorilla by carefully taking apart the model and creating an exploded view of this historically important piece. When viewed from a particular angle all pieces come together to form the original shape. It was part of the exhibition called ‘TIER’ at MOA in The Netherlands The story of a remarkable 19th century anatomical model created just four years after Darwin unleashed a political storm with his theories on human evolution. The publication of Charles Darwin’s controversial On the Origin of Species in 1859 caused debates to rage about human evolution, debates which witnessed the politicisation of a creature whose existence had only recently been confirmed by modern science. On one side of the argument was the Darwinian camp; on the other were those opposed to Darwin’s theory, such as Richard Owen, the famed Director of the Natural History Museum and a man who, interestingly, coined the word ‘dinosaur’. Tales of the creature in question had endured for centuries, but up until 1847 it remained a myth, an unknown. This all changed thanks to the missionary Thomas Savage and the anatomist Jeffries Wyman who wrote a paper for the journal of the Boston Society of Natural History in which they described a new species: Troglodytes gorilla. (Later, in 1929, Harvard zoologist Harold Coolidge would apply the synonym Gorilla gorilla...

Moldings labeled "Auzoux 9 rue de l'Ecole de Médecine Paris 6e". Dimensions: Internal organs 54 x 36 Starfish 42 x 43.5.

This is one of the largest and rarest of the Dr. Auzoux papier mâché anatomical models. It’s also one of our most ambitious offerings. This prized 1846 first generation handmade model dates to the mid-1800s. I am told that there are almost 200 separate removable parts. It was recently found tucked away in a barn for over 20 years and is fresh to the market. A handful of Auzoux full size horse...

This papier mâché or papier-mâché model on wood of a clam is made in France by the Dr. Louis Auzoux workshop. The people from Dr. Auzoux's workshop in Paris were the best and most f...