Death Mask

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This is a death mask reputedly to be that of a prisoner hanged at Worcester Gaol in the nineteenth century. These prisoners’ bodies were taken to Worcester Royal Infirmary for anatomical study. This mask and nine others (without phrenological markings) are on display at the George Marshall Medical Museum.

A phrenological diagram is seen on the mask; scientists aimed to attribute certain physical features to the presence of criminal behaviour, an avenue of research often associated with the work of Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso. Lombroso believed that people were born criminals, and that this was because they were of a more primitive stage of evolution. This theory has since been discredited, as well as the practice of phrenology more generally.

For more information on phrenology, see the Phrenology Head or Post-Mortem Kit. To find out about the museum’s collection of death masks see here.