A Macabre 19thC Plaster Human Skull for Medical UseOrigin: English Period: Late Nineteenth Century Provenance: Unknown* Date: c. 1870 Circumference: 17. 75 inches In original condition, with no cracks or repairs, the life size human skull used for phrenological and medical study is cast in plaster. Based on the idea that as the skull takes its shape from the brain, the surface of the skull can be read as an index of psychological aptitudes and tendencies, skulls such as this were part of the jigsaw of