Medical Antiques > Medical Therapeutic Instruments

Trepan with Ebony Handles Signed “MANN” 18th Century

Item#: MET1157

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Trepan with Ebony Handles Signed “MANN” 18th Century - click to enlarge.Trepan with Ebony Handles Signed “MANN” 18th Century - click to enlarge.Trepan with Ebony Handles Signed “MANN” 18th Century - click to enlarge.

This is a German (?) iron trepan in the form of a brace with rotating, quality, ebony handle. The iron body is signed Mann. The grip handle is made of turned ebony and the terminal chuck has a circular saw end – trephine, to cut out circular holes in the skull. Pre-sterilization era medical instruments are distinctive in that the handles were non-metallic; because of this and the distinctive scalloped decoration we can date the brace to the last quarter of the 18th century. Overall length 31.5 cm.